Aston Villa, alongside European semi-finalists Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, are pushing to sign the Scottish teenager as a free agent. Multiple English clubs have already entered formal discussions with Rice's representatives, presenting detailed pathways designed to accelerate his transition into senior first-team football.
Things didn't really work out the way that I'd imagined after leaving Arsenal and going to Palace. My love for football died away a bit. I was stuck in this rut of, What's going to happen? Am I just going to call it quits?'