West Ham react to Declan Rice transfer clause developments after Arsenal heroics
West Ham will be watching Declan Rice with regret as his heroics continue at Arsenal.
The England international blew Real Madrid away in recent weeks, scoring two wonderful free-kicks to knock out the reigning champions in the quarter-finals.
While that was happening, West Ham continued to stink out the Premier League under Graham Potter, looking more likely to finish 17th with each passing week.
Rice clause emerges at West Ham United
The Hammers included a Champions League clause in their deal to sell Rice, meaning they will receive £1million each time Arsenal qualify, up to five times.
Dan Plumley has insisted that West Ham will be happy with that, with a significant amount of money expected on top of the overall fee.
Despite Arsenal pushing to win the entire tournament, the football finance expert believes there will be no regrets from the Irons for not including a clause for that possibility.
“You’re just looking to squeeze whatever you can out of it,” Plumley exclusively told West Ham Zone.
“Of course, the way those negotiations would have played out, Arsenal would have had a say in that as well, West Ham wouldn’t have been able to just dictate all of those terms, so you kind of find that clubs fall in the middle of it.
| Arsenal | Paris Saint-Germain |
| Inter Milan | Barcelona |
“West Ham would have expected Arsenal to qualify for the Champions League more often than not and that would have been the five seasons at £1million each, that’s a significant amount of money that you can bank as a bonus, but you’ve also got to be careful not to overplay that and turn the deal the other way, and it can work that way if you demand too much.
“I think they will be relatively happy with where they are at, and ultimately, if you make that deal, you’re happy with it and you move on, so any kind of missed opportunities may be in the back of some minds, but the club will have put that to bed a long time ago.”
Arsenal could win Champions League
Of course, everyone will be lining up to potentially laugh at Arsenal, but they remain huge competitors for the trophy after humiliating Real Madrid.
It also shows the potential of West Ham under Potter, as they can cling onto that 1-0 win at The Emirates Stadium, only weeks before Madrid were smashed.
Something needs to change over the summer, with the Irons fading away for far too long since lifting the Europa Conference League, let’s hope that happens.