Declan Rice, who just joined Arsenal, would have been an ‘interesting’ addition to Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich team, according to the coach.
On Saturday, Rice signed a record-breaking £105 million transfer agreement with the Gunners.
It ends one of the most drawn-out transfer sagas in recent memory, one in which the top clubs in Europe competed to capture the former West Ham captain.
Bayern, Chelsea and Manchester United, were among those to miss out on his signature, with the Bundesliga champions entering the race for the defensive midfielder late on.
But they were eventually priced out of the move, which will have no doubt disappointed Tuchel who was said to be a huge fan of the 24-year-old having witnessed his impressive performances first-hand while he was Chelsea boss.
Asked about Bayern’s failed pursuit of Rice, the German manager said: ‘It could have been an interesting addition to have a player with his character in the squad.
‘He’s a good player and he went to a good club. He has a profile that I don’t think we have in the squad. It could be interesting to have it.’
Rice is not the only English star that Tuchel has been pursuing however, with Manchester City defender Kyle Walker also on his shortlist.
More notably, Bayern are the favourites to sign Tottenham striker Harry Kane, though striking a deal for the Three Lions captain is proving hard with Spurs rejecting the Germans’ second offer of £70m.
Asked about the links to Kane, Tuchel said: ‘I have a very boring answer: I do not comment on players who are not with us.
‘It’s well known that we are looking for a Number 9. If we find someone that fits in, then we’ll go all in. If we don’t find anyone, we’re happy with our squad. But we need more patience.’