West Ham midfielder Declan Rice is not worth the £80million valuation the Hammers would reportedly want for him, claims Paul Ince.
Manchester United are keen on signing Rice and could make a move for the England international in January.
But West Ham want at least £80m for the 20-year-old, who is yet to make 100 senior club appearances.
Ince says Rice may be worth somewhere near that in a few years time when he progresses his midfield game further.
But he has described the valuation now as “madness”.
“You get people saying things just for the sake of saying them,” ex-United star Ince told talkSPORT.
“I don’t think you’re going to spend £80m on Declan Rice, that’s for sure, not at this moment in time.
“You’ve got to remember he was a centre-half and as a midfield player, I’ve watched him quite a lot last year and this year, and he’s still got a long way to go.
“I think he’s at the right club with West Ham, he’s playing week in, week out which is important and I think he’s got the right people around him.
“Someone like Mark Noble has been there for a long time, he’ll learn a lot.
“But to start quoting these ridiculous prices – no, it’s madness, it really is madness. I think two or three years time maybe yeah.
“He’s still got a lot to learn, he’s still got to grow, he’s still got to get more powerful, he’s still got to get up and down the park a lot quicker than he does which will come when your body develops more.
“He’s still got to get himself in the box, got to score goals.
“That’s when you’re worth £80-90m and if he can learn that as he gets older then yeah, why not?”
