It’s not often that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Erik ten Hag and Rio Ferdinand have agreed, but in the case of “the player Manchester United definitely should have signed”, the three are in agreement. We say: Why couldn’t the United management just listen to Solskjaer!
In May, Erik ten Hag stated that the English defensive midfielder would have worked perfectly at United. Manchester United were on, but let Arsenal run away with the signature.
READ: Manchester United throw themselves in and hijack Real Madrid’s ‘fully negotiated’ signing
It is, of course, about Declan Rice.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was clear that as United manager he had recommended United to secure the West Ham player.
“I like him [Declan Rice] as a player – we’ve discussed him a few times and I think we would have done well with him in midfield. He covers the pitch and I think he has improved a lot on his game as well. Obviously, he would have cost a bit of money, but we could and should have gone for him,” Solskjaer said on The Overlap.
Could and should have signed Rice.
After Manchester United’s game against Arsenal on Wednesday, Declan Rice was the topic of the Talk of the Devils podcast with two The Athletic journalists.
“Leading people at United wanted Rice. Solskjaer wanted him. Ten Hag wanted him,” says Andy Mitten.
Read on F7: Giant club can’t afford to wait – signs super striker Osimhen in January
So why didn’t Rice end up at Manchester United?
“There was some doubt internally, also among the scouts, who discussed whether he was good enough for United,” says Laurie Withwell.
United legend Rio Ferdinand, on the other hand, has no doubt that Rice would be perfect for Manchester United.
-Declan Rice, I said it before to Man Utd, he was the player I 100% would have gone and signed. You could argue that there are midfielders with better abilities than him, but I would argue that only Jude Bellingham comes close to him in terms of being able to come into the dressing room and try to gain control and respect straight away. Not only with standards and helping with the culture and the environment, but the respect that he would get right away, Ferdinand doses on his podcast.
Why just couldn’t anyone have listened to Ole Gunnar’s Solskjaer…
Everything you need to know about Manchester United matches
