How Man City’s huge Declan Rice development could help Sheffield United transfer pursuit

Sheffield United’s transfer pursuit of Tommy Doyle and James McAtee this summer could receive an extra boost if Manchester City can pull of an audacious move for West Ham captain Declan Rice this summer.

City are understood to have already agreed a fee with Chelsea for Croatian international midfielder Mateo Kovačić, who is approaching the final year of his Stamford Bridge contract. The treble-winners are set to pay an initial £25million for the 29-year-old, with a further £5million to follow in potential add-ons.

And City’s midfield stocks could be further bolstered with the arrival of England star Rice, who is widely expected to leave the London Stadium this summer after leading the Hammers to Europa Conference League glory last season. Arsenal made the first move in the race for Rice with a £75m bid, plus £15m add-ons, which was turned down by their London rivals, with The Athletic reporting that City will today make an approach of their own in a bid to lure Rice to Manchester.

The arrival of either Kovačić or Rice - and potentially both - could push Doyle further down the pecking order at the Etihad Stadium, and also potentially affect McAtee’s first-team opportunities with Pep Guardiola’s men next season. Much may rest on the future of İlkay Gündoğan, with City desperate to keep hold of their out-of-contract skipper who is of interest to Arsenal and Barcelona but has also received contact from Borussia Dortmund in his homeland.

Doyle, speaking on England U21 duty ahead of their European Championship campaign, admitted recently that he has had “conversations” with United since his successful loan spell ended, before clarifying that they have been about this summer’s tournament. But it is no secret that United want to bring him back to Bramall Lane ahead of their Premier League return, with the player admitting on numerous occasions that he would also be open to the possibility.

Speaking to The Star after the season ended with the Blades securing promotion, Doyle ruled out playing U23s football with City and is expected to tell his parent club that he wants to be in a first-team environment next season. “I don’t think I’ll ever play 23s now,” he insisted. “I want to play Premier League football so I’ve got to figure out what’s best for me and for everyone who’s involved. So we’ll see what happens.”

With a permanent move for Doyle looking unlikely - the salary he commands at City making any deal difficult even before the fee his parent club may demand is taken into account - a loan move is the most straightforward way that Doyle wears United colours again next term. But that arrangement in turn would rule out a return for McAtee, with Premier League rules dictating that top-flight clubs may only loan one player at a time from one of their rivals.