West Ham coach accepts Declan Rice and Roy Keane comparison amid Man United interest

Stuart Pearce believes Declan Rice is already "up there" in terms of quality with former Manchester United captain Roy Keane.

The West Ham captain continues to be of interest to United in terms of midfield reinforcements, having been earmarked as the principal target in September.

United are long-term admirers of the 22-year-old, who impressed for the Hammers in their last outing against Ralf Rangnick's side where they slumped to a last-minute Marcus Rashford winner.

And Pearce, who is David Moyes' assistant at the London Stadium, has rated the England international on the same level as Keane but believes the potential for the United target is what is the most exciting.

"At his age, 22, I've played alongside Roy Keane," he told talkSPORT.

"You try to compare Roy Keane to him and you think 'well did Roy Keane have that dynamic sort of pace he's got, the strength of him' comparison, he would be up there there's no doubt about that.

"It's where he can go that's the exciting thing for me.

"He's 22 years old at the moment, you see him pick the ball up, someone comes shut him down and he drives past them as though they're not there, these are Premier League players that he drives past them.

"You see him go shut people down and that five yard explosion it's as though the players don't get set he moves that quickly over the ground. He's 6 ft 2", he's box-to-box, he can finish - I think there's more goals to come during his career.

"He's an absolute pleasure, he's so humble as a young man that is his biggest forte for me never mind what he does on the pitch."