West Ham ambitiously admire Milinkovic-Savic and Man City outcast as Declan Rice transfer looms | OneFootball

West Ham United will look to sign Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic or Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips should they sell Declan Rice this summer.

Rice is expected to depart the Londoners at the end of the season after rejecting three separate contract offers.

Chelsea have been strongly linked with the England midfielder for a few years having been released by the Blues as a teenager.

However, it is believed that Arsenal are currently leading the race and have made Rice their top priority for the summer transfer window.

Manchester United and Liverpool are both reportedly interested.

Amidst interest from a host of Premier League clubs, West Ham have already begun their search for Rice’s replacement.

According to The Sun, the Hammers have sparked an interest in Lazio and Serbia midfielder Milinkovic-Savic.

Arsenal and Manchester United have been linked with the 27-year-old for a while and he could be on the move this summer as he enters the final 12 months of his contract.

Often priced out of a move by Lazio, the Italian club may finally cash in on the Serbian international to avoid losing him for nothing in 2024.

He has been valued anywhere between £60-£120million in the past and the report claims West Ham expect a ‘massive offer’ for Rice, so should have the funds available.

While the Irons have an interest in signing Milinkovic-Savic, it is added that City midfielder Phillips is also a target of theirs.

West Ham tried to sign Phillips last year while he was at Leeds United, however, the player and club were not interested at the time.

Rice’s England teammate then joined the Premier League champions last summer, but has struggled for game time at the Etihad.

Rodri is one of the first names on the teamsheet for City, making it extremely difficult for the 27-year-old to play regularly.

The report states that Phillips was ‘not enthusiastic’ about moving to the London Stadium in 2022.

However, the opportunity to be a regular starter for a Premier League team could ‘change’ that.

Phillips came off the bench late on against Arsenal on Wednesday, making his ninth appearance of the season. He has only started once.

Milinkovic-Savic, on the other hand, has six goals and eight assists in 30 matches across all competitions in 2022-23.