The pain was etched all over Declan Rice's face in Frankfurt on Thursday night. The disappointment for the West Ham midfielder was two-fold in a defeat that robbed him of a first European final and a route into the Champions League.
That would have been a first Champions League campaign for the 23-year-old, but as painful as defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt was in a bad-tempered game, there will be more famous European nights for Rice further down the line.
The Hammers were defiant on the pitch in Germany and they remain defiant off it when it comes to the future of Rice, but the reality is that simply cannot offer the stage that the 23-year-old deserves.
READ MORE: West Ham stand firm over United target Declan Rice
Time and again this season Rice has shown himself to be a world-class midfielder, rising to the big occasions in the Europa League but dominating games in the Premier League as well.
When West Ham were beaten 1-0 at Old Trafford in January it was a poor display from David Moyes' overly cautious team, but Rice still managed to look like the best midfielder on the pitch.
That has been the way for most of this season and while West Ham's hand is strong with Rice tied down to a contract for a further two years, with the option for another, the time is coming for the midfielder to move up a level.
Manchester United have a long-standing interest in him and the deck could fall in their favour this summer. Chelsea, who must rue the day they released a 14-year-old Rice, are unlikely to be able to make a move due to the uncertainty at Stamford Bridge and Manchester City aren't thought to be serious contenders at the moment.
If Rice was to move to United this summer he would only be upgrading from the Europa Conference League to the Europa League, but his long-term prospects of titles and regular Champions League football are clearly better at Old Trafford.
The issue for United is West Ham's excessive price tag of £150million and while that is clearly posturing and a starting point for negotiations, a deal will cost at least £100m. In a season without European football when United also need reinforcements in other areas, it's a significant fee.
But sales can help top up United's budget and they will be saving more than £1million a week in wages with the departures of Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Edinson Cavani.
Not only would Rice fit perfectly for United, but his signing would send a message out about the intent of this regime under Erik ten Hag.
United are working on a possible deal for Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips as an alternative target, but while the 26-year-old has done well at Elland Road, he isn't in Rice's class.
Phillips' career took off under the unique guidance of Marcelo Bielsa and he has looked comfortable playing for England, but few would argue he's a better player than Rice.
United need to sign a holding midfielder this summer and while Rice has added an attacking flourish to his game, his starting position for West Ham is as a deep midfielder.
He has a licence to get forward thanks to the presence of Tomas Soucek, but if he played as a lone holding midfielder for United he has the positional discipline and defensive awareness to perform the role. If Fred kept his place under Ten Hag that could allow Rice to get forward when the opportunity allows.
If United decide to focus on Phillips instead of Rice then it would be settling for a B-list target. Rice could be a budget-buster this summer, but he could also fill a role in that midfield for a decade.
The road back to the top under Ten Hag is a long one, but the journey will be made smoother if United show the commitment to sign the best possible players. Rice fits the bill.
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