Manchester United will need to sell Nemanja Matic or Donny Van De Beek before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can sign Declan Rice from West Ham, according to a report in England.
The Manchester Evening News, as quoted by The Daily Express, is reporting that the Manchester United manager will need to trim his current midfield options in order to make space for Rice in his Red Devils squad next summer.
The same article states that the Red Devils are already discussing the infrastructure of a potential deal to sign the England international from the east London side in the 2022 summer transfer window.
Manchester United already have Paul Pogba, Fred, Scott McTominay, Matic and Van De Beek vying for a starting spot in the middle of the park at Old Trafford.
According to the report, Matic and Van De Beek look most likely to be sacrificed in order to facilitate a deal for Rice, provided that Pogba commits his long-term future to the Old Trafford outfit.
Fred and McTominay have been used regularly in the Manchester United team in the current Premier League campaign to suggest the pair still have futures under Solskjaer despite some disappointing top-flight results.
Pogba, meanwhile, remained at Manchester United beyond the 2021 summer transfer window despite the World Cup winner being linked with the likes of Serie A side Juventus, La Liga giants Real Madrid and Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.
While Manchester United have been regularly linked with a move to sign Rice over the past season or so, former Red Devils defender Gary Neville believes Solskjaer should sign Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham instead of the Hammers midfielder.
Taking part in a Q&A session on Twitter with supporters last month, Neville was asked whether he would prefer to sign Bellingham or Rice.
And Neville simply replied: “Bellingham.”