Declan Rice shares fears that West Ham squad could get picked apart
Declan Rice has admitted that he fears West Ham could lose their best players to ‘top clubs’ while speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap.
Rice has been heavily linked with an exit away from the London Stadium in recent seasons, with a £100m+ move to Chelsea or the Manchester clubs mooted [Telegraph].
However Jarrod Bowen has also been subject to speculation about a possible move to Liverpool in recent months on the back of his excellent form this season [The Athletic].
While speaking to Sky Sports’ Gary Neville on his YouTube series ‘The Overlap‘, Rice was asked about if he fears the club could lose their best stars if they continue to play at the highest level.
“Yeah,” Rice admitted. “Obviously, you’re constantly reading stuff about myself, [Jarrod] Bowen, [Manuel] Lanzini. You’re constantly reading stuff about players.
“Of course, if you’re performing well and there’s top clubs around then there’s always going to be people circling. But I never read too much into it, or believe anything, until something actually happens.
“For me, it’s just all noise and I’ve got to stay focused on West Ham and try to perform week in and week out and try to be the best player, because that’s what I want to be.”
Blow
West Ham have been through this process before, but that doesn’t make it any easier.
Their golden generation that included the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe got picked apart by bigger clubs and they missed out on their peaks.
They’ve now assembled a top squad with plenty of talent that has proven they’re able to compete at that high level themselves, currently pushing for a Champions League place.
The fear that it could happen again is natural, but times have changed. There is far more money in the game now and West Ham have plenty of it, while they’re also performing well and creating an atmosphere players don’t need to leave.
A few could find themselves on the way out, but for the most part David Moyes can keep the majority of the team together and build towards consistently challenging at the top end of the table.
In other West Ham news, Declan Rice discusses his West Ham future with Gary Neville on The Overlap