Manchester United Tipped To Swap Resurgent Midfielder For Future 'Club Captain'

Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch is positive about a swap deal that would move West Ham star Declan Rice to Manchester United.

The Red Devils have an array of world-class strikers in their current squad, and scoring goals is evidently not an issue for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

However, the club has been lacking intensity on the defensive end and is expected to pursue a well-rounded defensive midfielder in the summer.

Weighing in on Manchester United’s situation, Crouch proposes an ideal scenario that he believes Solskjaer and Ed Woodward should capitalize on.

According to the ex-Anfield star, now that the Red Devils have loaned Jesse Lingard to West Ham, it does “makes sense” to make him stay there permanently via a swap deal involving Declan Rice.

“Your [the fans] suggestion makes sense for United,” Crouch recently said on his Daily Mail column. “[Jesse] Lingard needs to get away as his time at Old Trafford is up, while Rice is the kind of player United needs to add. Would West Ham do that deal? I’m not so sure. We’ll see what happens.”

“I love Declan Rice,” he admitted. “I have got a few friends who are West Ham fans and they want the club to break the bank, make him club captain and do all that it takes to keep him there for the next 15 years. He’s a brilliant player and could play for any of the top sides.”

Looking at Manchester United’s chances of landing a valuable player like Rice, who is currently worth £80 million ($112 million), it appears that signing the Hammers star could possibly eat up more than half the amount of Solskjaer’s reported £150 million ($211 million) transfer bonus for the summer window.

Lingard, on the other hand, seems to have resurged at West Ham, having scored three goals in his first four games as a loanee.

It didn’t take long for Lingard to make an impact in the club, and the coaching staff sees a bright future for the 28-year-old with the Hammers.

“He’s a smashing kid. I’ve spoken to Gareth [Southgate] and Steve Holland about him, David Moyes knew him before from Man United. He’s fitted in brilliantly for us,” West Ham assistant coach Stuart Peace recently told Talksport of Lingard.

“He’s giving energy, goals, assists in these early games,” he continued. “And the flip side of that is that it’s a good move for him. It has fitted in nicely with where he is in his career at this moment in time.”