Ex-Manchester United right-back Paul Parker believes his former club should do whatever it takes to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.

Reports this week have suggested that the Red Devils are ready to push ahead with their attempts to snap up the 22-year-old, as they look to see off potential challenges from the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea for his signature.

Parker compared Rice to some of United’s greatest midfielders over the last 30 years, and he feels money should be no object in trying to secure the player’s services:

“If you wanted to spend a fortune on a midfield player, go and get Declan Rice. Declan is the best central midfielder in the country. If City wants to pay £100million for Jack Grealish, if someone wants you to pay £160million [for Declan Rice], then you gotta pay it because Jack Grealish wasn’t worth £100million. They’ve set a mark now.”

“Declan Rice is the closest player that Manchester United could ever get, who you would say is – ‘no he’s Bryan Robson, no he’s Roy Keane, no he’s Paul Ince.’ This is because he wants to do everything. He’s one of those players who wants to say ‘please don’t label me.’ Don’t label me as a defensive midfield player. Don’t label me as an attacking midfielder as I want to be all over the park trying to control everything.”

The hype around Rice is now getting to fever pitch, and while he is undoubtedly a fantastic midfielder, Parker does seem to be overegging things ever so slightly with his claims about his potential transfer value.

£160m for a player who has made just 169 senior appearances, and hasn’t won a trophy in his career so far, is a tad too much, to put it mildly.