Contact made: Man City in talks for "sensational" £150m signing, Pep would love him - opinion

Manchester City could be set for a busy summer transfer window as reports linking them with a move for Erling Haaland have ramped up in recent weeks.

However, it seems as though the reigning Premier League champions could be also looking to complete another big-money move this summer for a player much closer to home.

According to a recent report from the Daily Mail, City have made contact with West Ham United to let them know that they are interested in signing midfielder Declan Rice this summer.

After working his way through West Ham’s youth ranks after leaving Chelsea in 2013, the 23-year-old made his senior debut for the Hammers back in May 2017 in a Premier League win over Burnley.

Since then, the midfielder has gone on to make himself a crucial player for the east London club, racking up a total of 189 appearances across all competitions.

In those appearances, the Englishman has scored ten goals and provided nine assists along the way.

To highlight what a vital figure the midfielder is for David Moyes’ side, no other player in his squad has managed to equal the number of tackles (67), blocks (53) or interceptions (87) that Rice has in the league this season.

With the England international racking up more passes (1687) than any of his current teammates, this shows how capable he is of moving the ball around the pitch and how he could fit into Pep Guardiola’s side.

With City having made more passes in the league than any other top-flight side, it’s easy to see why Guardiola would love to have a player like Rice, who he has praised in the past, in his squad.

Speaking about him in November, the Spanish boss said: “Declan Rice is an exceptional player.”

Also labelled as “sensational” by The Athletic journalist Adam