Jamal Musiala has spoken of his admiration for Declan Rice, though suggested that Bayern Munich have accepted defeat in the rice to sign the midfielder.
Rice looks certain to leave West Ham this summer and Arsenal are favourites to land him, but the Gunners have had an inital bid rejected and could now face competition from Treble-winners Manchester City.
West Ham were unhappy with the structure of that opening offer, which was in the region of £80million and contained a number of clauses, but Arsenal are expected to return with an improved bid and remain confident of signing Rice.
Bayern have also been linked with the 24-year-old, though they are believed to have decided to look elsewhere after a meeting of the club’s board members.
Speaking at a press conference while on international duty with Germany, Musiala revealed he would have been keen for Rice to join him in Munich, with the pair having known each other from a young age.
“We would have been happy if he had come to us,” Musiala said.
He added: “Declan is a great player. I’ve known him since he was very young before he went to West Ham. We played together in the park.
“I think I was 11-12 at the time. We grew up in the same area. He’s a great player.”
