Frank Lampard's departure as Chelsea manager has boosted Manchester United's chances of landing Declan Rice, claims The Guardian.
Lampard pushed for Chelsea to re-sign Rice in the summer but West Ham managed to fend off any interest with a huge valuation of the England international.
Rice is open to the idea of returning to Chelsea where he would have the chance to play with best friend Mason Mount.
The Chelsea board were not all on board with Lampard's interest in Rice and now he has been sacked their interest is likely to end.
United are long-term admirers of Rice and have been monitoring his future at West Ham in the background.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were aware of Chelsea's interest and accepted the London outift were favourites for his signature.
However, Lampard's departure as Chelsea manager means United now have a very realistic shot of landing the 22-year-old if they step up their interest in the summer.
Rice has been captaining West Ham all season with Mark Noble out of favour and has grown from strength-to-strength alongside Tomas Soucek in midfield.
With four years left to run on his current deal, West Ham are in no rush to sign Rice and will likely demand in the region of £70m for his signature.
Rice is one of only two outfielders, along with United captain Harry Maguire, to have featured in every available minute of Premier League action since the start of last season.
