"He can be the new Steven Gerrard" - Former Liverpool star believes Arsenal summer target would 'fit in' at the Anfield club

Liverpool could enter the race to sign Arsenal target Declan Rice from West Ham.
Liverpool could enter the race to sign Arsenal target Declan Rice from West Ham.

Former Liverpool player Neil Ruddock believes Arsenal target Declan Rice would be the perfect signing for the Anfield club instead, saying he would 'fit in' at the club.

He believes the Reds are "crying out" for a player of Rice's caliber and that he could be the next Steven Gerrard should he trade claret & blue for red. However, the Gunners are in hot-pursuit of the West Ham United captain.

Neil Ruddock made an appearance on popular radio talk show talkSPORT. During the show, he was asked by Natalie Sawyer what he thought the best destination for Declan Rice was. Ruddock replied:

"Liverpool. Obviously, I'm biased towards Liverpool, and Tottenham and Millwall, but I don't think he's going to play for those two.
"Liverpool are crying out for him, he'd fit in, they'd love him. He can be the new Steven Gerrard, and what a thing to be."

Reds fans would be overjoyed should their club jump into the mix and sign the highly-rated midfielder. Having anchored West Ham's midfield over the last two seasons, many believe the time is right for Declan Rice to take the next step in his career. With Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Chelsea also in the fray to secure his signature, Liverpool would need to move quickly to get ahead of their rivals.

Signing a midfielder or two would be a priority for Jurgen Klopp this summer. Naby Keita and James Milner will depart the club this summer, while age is quickly catching up to both Fabinho and Jordan Henderson. Curtis Jones is the only other senior midfielder and Liverpool will hope to add quality reinforcements in the middle of the park before the transfer window closes.

So far West Ham have been adamant that they will only entertain offers in the region of £100 million. It remains to be seen whether the Merseysiders can afford to spend that amount on one player.


Liverpool set to finalize deal for Alexis Mac Allister

With several slots becoming vacant in midfield, Klopp and the club's board are eager to bring in fresh faces ahead of the new season. As mentioned above, exits and ageing players will push the Reds into making a couple of key acquisitions in midfield to add depth to their squad.

The first of those incomings could be Alexis Mac Allister, the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder who also won the World Cup with Argentina this season. The Reds are ready to pay the reported release clause to sign the player - a fee in the region of £70 million. This is according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who added that the deal could go through this week.

Mac Allister has made 40 appearances for the Seagulls across competitions in the 2022-23 season, scoring 12 goals and providing three assists. He can play in a deep-lying midfield role as well as an advanced role and could be an important signing for the Reds.

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Edited by Arnav Kholkar