“If he likes London, why doesn’t he play for Leyton Orient” - Chris Sutton makes hilarious claim on Arsenal and Man City target Declan Rice
Football pundit Chris Sutton has made a hilarious claim on West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice amid interest from Arsenal and Manchester City. The former Chelsea striker turned pundit has cheekily urged Rice to play for Leyton Orient if he wants to stay in London despite interest from Pep Guardiola's side.
Rice has been the subject of interest from both Arsenal and Manchester City in recent weeks. However, it has been claimed that the Englishman would prefer to join the Gunners over the Cityzens.
Chris Sutton has claimed that it would be a no-brainer for Rice to choose Manchester City over Arsenal as he is more likely to win trophies should he join the Sky Blues. Sutton told BBC Sport, as quoted by HITC Sport:
“I doubt if he is a London boy, whether that makes any difference. If he likes London that much, then why doesn’t he play for Leyton Orient or something? He’s not going to the best club in the country (if he joins Arsenal) and that’s the point. Everyone admires what Arsenal and Arteta did, but they fell away."
The former England striker, who won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers in 1995, added:
“Would you have ambition if you are Declan Rice? Where is he likely to win trophies? Arsenal or Manchester City?”
Meanwhile, as per The Guardian, Rice is waiting for the Gunners to raise their bid after West Ham rejected Manchester City’s opening offer of £90m for the midfielder. The Englishman has his contract at the London Stadium expiring next summer but the Hammers are still holding out for the best deal.
Rice has been a key player for both West Ham and England in recent years, having made 245 appearances for the Hammers to date while being capped 43 times for the Three Lions. He led the east London side to the UEFA Europa Conference League last season.
Former England international makes bizarre claim on Arsenal target
Former England Women's forward Eni Aluko has claimed that Manchester City aren't at all interested in signing Declan Rice. Aluko said that the Gunners are using Mikel Arteta's prior connection with Pep Guardiola in their bid for Rice. She told talkSPORT:
"As a sporting director, I used to do this a lot. So I used to call up a club, big club, and say, right, can you put in a bid in? And that would get my owner to basically put a higher bid in. It’s a bit like an auction, isn’t it?"
She added:
"I don’t think Manchester City actually want to sign Declan Rice. I think what’s going on here is Arteta’s picked up the phone to Pep, said, Listen, you know, Arsenal are going to do the sort of increment mental bid approach. If you put a higher bid in, that will push my owner to … I think there’s a bit of that going on here."
West Ham United are understood to be holding out for £100 million for their priced asset, who has just a year left in his contract.