Manchester City are very much still in the race to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, according to Daily Telegraph‘s Northern Football correspondent James Ducker.

Speaking in a wide-ranging article about Manchester United’s pursuit of Aston Villa’s John McGinn and other midfield targets, Ducker also revealed that City’s interest in Rice is pretty strong:

Aston Villa and Scotland’s John McGinn has emerged as one of the midfielders under consideration by Manchester United for this summer #mufc #avfc Full details: https://t.co/EJgmiblH3d

— James Ducker (@TelegraphDucker) January 17, 2022

Considering Rice is valued above £100m by West Ham, it seems surprising that the Citizens are serious about making a move for the England international, especially as they already have one of the best holding midfielders in Rodri.

With Fernandinho tipped to leave the Etihad at the end of the season, though, manager Pep Guardiola may feel that he needs a marquee signing to fill the void left by the club captain.

United and Chelsea are also still in the mix for Rice and, combined with the 22-year-old’s price tag, this will undoubtedly be a difficult transfer to pull off. We will likely find out more about a potential deal the closer we get to the summer.