Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler would like his former club to pursue a move for West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.

There has been a lot of talk about the Reds making a summer bid for Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham but Fowler says he’d be keen on the club signing the teenager’s international teammate as well:

The [Jude] Bellingham link is brilliant because he’s a very good player, another player who I really like is Declan Rice. He fits into a Liverpool mould. Whether Liverpool are looking at players to come in, they have to have a certain amount of pedigree, those players need to have lots of energy. I do think Rice fits that bill, he’s a player who sits in the middle of the park but he can get around the pitch with his endeavour as well.

“Rice is a player I’d like Liverpool to sign. Not to be disrespectful to West Ham, but Rice will be a name on the top of many top teams’ lists whether that’s in the summer or January. Rice has been class for a few years now and you can see why clubs want him, but for me, he fits the mould of a Liverpool player.””

Whether Rice would be a realistic target, it is debatable. Not only are there plenty of rivals for the player’s signature, including Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City, but he is likely to cost a huge sum.

West Ham are not expected to let the 23-year-old leave for less than £120m, which means that Liverpool would have to smash their transfer record to get him.

For that reason, you have to say recruiting Rice is very much a pipe dream. Other midfielders, including the likes of Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes and Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong have been mentioned as potential options in recent days, so we shall see who ends up being the Reds’ number one target.