“I’ve slagged him off a little bit but…”: Scholes urges United to make bombshell move for PL rival’s key man

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has named Arsenal’s Declan Rice as his dream signing for this summer. The Red Devils are in the market for a new midfielder this year to fill Casemiro’s shoes. The Brazilian midfielder has been in resurgent form this season, but his contract expires in just over two months. Casemiro has already announced that he will be leaving Old Trafford at the end of this season in search of a new adventure, with reports suggesting that he could be on his way to Inter Miami. The Premier League giants, meanwhile, need to bring in an able replacement to partner Kobbie Mainoo in the middle of the park. United do have Manuel Ugarte on their books, but having failed to impress so far, the Uruguayan also remains linked with an exit this summer. The Red Devils are looking for a Premier League-proven midfielder this summer and one player who could have addressed a lot of issues at Old Trafford is Rice. One of the Premier League’s best Rice first gained prominence during his time with West Ham United, emerging as one of the finest midfielders in the league. United were linked with the Englishman for a while, but lost out to Arsenal in the race for his signature in the summer of 2023. Since arriving at the Emirates, Rice has hit a higher gear and is now one of Mikel Arteta’s key men. This season, the 27 year old has registered five goals and 11 assists in 48 games across all competitions, 42 of which have been starts. Declan Rice Stats: 2025/26 Season CompetitionAppearancesStartsGoalsAssistsYellow CardsRed CardsMinutes Played Premier League3231472-2,765′ UEFA Champions League108123-769′ EFL Cup63-2–288′ FA Cup——- Total48425115-3,822′ Source: Transfermarkt. Rice is already one of the favourites to win the Premier League Player of the Season award, alongside United skipper Bruno Fernandes. Former Red Devils skipper Gary Neville recently revealed that he was devastated when the former West Ham midfielder moved to the Emirates instead of Old Trafford. Scholes has now urged United to make a move for Rice this summer. Scholes’ dream signing Scholes was asked to name his dream signing for this summer on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, and he responded: “I think I would go Declan Rice. I know I’ve slagged him off a little bit but I think Manchester United need someone like Rice. I think they need a proper central midfielder.” “I heard Rio Ferdinand say something the other day about who is a realistic managerial target for United. But every manager and player should be realistic for Man United. Who isn’t a realistic target for United? I don’t believe that, I think anyone is possible for United.” “The ones they’re talking about are Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton and Sando Tonali – that is a position United need to strengthen.” Final Thoughts While there is no doubt that Rice would absolutely transform United into title contenders, he is unlikely to be available this summer. Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, however, could be a fine alternative for the Arsenal man, and INEOS should do everything possible to bring him to Old Trafford for the job. Featured image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Deepungsu Pandit Deepungsu has been a Manchester United fan since 2000. In his playing days, he was an attacking midfielder with a proclivity for the back heel. Right now, however, he prefers to operate as a regista. Deepungsu has been writing about the Red Devils, Football, and other things since 2009. He has worked for over seven years with Sportskeeda, writing football reviews, opinions and news articles. Deepungsu also maintains a blog, The Thinking Me, where he writes about life and things that interest him. His favourite Manchester United player is Paul Scholes.