McAvennie disappointed by dry January at West Ham, worries about Declan Rice
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie feels let down by West Ham’s failure to sign any new players in January and admits it’s got him worried about Declan Rice’s future.
Rice, 22, has emerged as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League in recent years and, understandably, that’s led to a lot of speculation about his future in East London.
There’s no doubt that if the Hammers qualify for the Champions League this season, their chances of hanging onto Rice for at least another year will increase massively.
However, McAvennie feels that the lack of ambition shown in January might have an impact on Rice’s future at the London Stadium.
Speaking about the quiet January window, McAvennie told West Ham Zone: “I’m very disappointed. Listen, there’s no point in buying players for the sake of it but I’m sure David [Moyes] would’ve wanted one or two over the line.
“There’s definitely no point in buying just to make up the numbers because we’ve got good boys coming through, it’s got to be someone who can improve the squad.
“I just think of Rice and his contract, you want to keep players like that so you’ve got to show a good mentality and ambition to keep challenging.
“The squad isn’t good enough and not big enough to challenge year in and year out, especially when you’re playing in the Europa League, playing every Thursday night and Sunday.
“You need people to come in.
“[Michail] Antonio’s been brilliant and hasn’t been injured. But if he does get injured, what are we going to do?
“David will want to do all this false nine rubbish but I’m just a wee bit disappointed in West Ham.
“David’s come out and said the right things but I’m sure he’ll be disappointed they didn’t get anybody in.”
In other West Ham news, players are worried about one of their teammates quitting.