Declan Rice continues West Ham United connection with ‘good luck’ text to David Moyes
Declan Rice has revealed he still stays in contact with several players and staff at West Ham United, including sharing text messages with David Moyes on the eve of the season.
The 24-year-old left the London Stadium over the summer in a £105 million deal that saw him join Arsenal in a move across London that some suggested could tarnish his reputation, having been the Hammers club captain and lifting the Europa Conference League last season.
But the England international has revealed that he still has a deep connection with the club he made his first-team breakthrough with and it doesn’t seem as though his move to the Emirates has changed his love for the Hammers whatsoever.
Speaking in an interview with Channel 4 before England versus Ukraine on Saturday (9 September), he said: “I really can’t explain the feelings, people leave clubs and lose affiliations with that club. I still speak to the boys regularly.
“I texted the manager at the start of the season saying ‘Good luck boss’. He texted me back. We’ve got a good relationship. People at the club, we’re still constantly talking and I never want it to not be like that.”
Good relationship
For the most part, there seems to be very little ill feeling towards Rice for making the move to Arsenal as at the end of last season it felt inevitable that he would be leaving the London Stadium having lifted European silverware with the Hammers.
The natural progression for the midfielder seemed to be to a top-six club and that would’ve stung no matter where he decided to move to, but it is impossible to doubt how much he genuinely loved West Ham and how much he enjoyed his time with the Irons.
For West Ham, the money they raised from the England international’s sale has been truly helpful, seeing them re-energised and strengthened at the start of the new season, with Rice’s replacements in midfield shining as Moyes’ side currently sit in the Champions League places.
While it would have been amazing to see Rice have a Mark Noble-esque career in East London, a few months on from his departure it genuinely feels like this could have been a very sensible transfer for all parties involved in the deal.
In other West Ham news, Jesse Lingard has been spotted playing for the Irons in a friendly match