Manchester United target Declan Rice insists he is happy at West Ham but has aspirations to test himself in the Champions League.
Rice has been a revelation for West Ham this season and has reportedly been earmarked as a top transfer target by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The 20-year-old is expected to cement his position as an England regular in the years to come and insists he is enjoying life at West Ham.
“I’ve got a great connection with the [West Ham] fans,” The Daily Mail quote Rice as saying. “They love me and I love them.
“Definitely I want that [Champions League football]. When you start out in football you always want to play at the top. You want to play in the Champions League. If you were in football and you didn’t want to do that there’d be no point playing.
“[Frenkie] De Jong got his move to Barcelona and it’s fully deserved. He’s a top, top player and I think you’ve seen that in the Champions League. It would be great to come up against him in the Nations League.”
There was uncertainty regarding Rice’s future at the start of the season but the Hammers finally made a breakthrough in contract talks with the youngster.
Rice penned a five-year deal in December but West Ham will struggle to keep hold of him if he continues to excel for the club.
Of players aged 23 and under in the Premier League this season, only Wilfred Ndidi (190) won possession in the middle third more times than Rice (161).
