Declan Rice is ‘willing to move north’ as he eyes up West Ham United exit – journalist
Declan Rice continues to be linked with a move away from West Ham and ex-Eurosport journalist Dean Jones thinks the Hammers captain could look outside of London.
West Ham will find it tough to fend off further interest in club captain Rice over the next few windows. The 23-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the Premier League and is hot property in the transfer window.
While Rice has been linked to most Premier League giants, Chelsea lead the race and still deem the Hammers captain a priority since Todd Boehly’s takeover at Stamford Bridge. [90min]
However, according to journalist Jones, Rice isn’t ruling out a move outside of London.
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones said: “You can’t rule out a transfer like that. Chelsea still makes the most sense in many ways for Declan Rice, but he is willing to move north.
“I’ve been told that before, so I don’t think that’s going to be a problem in terms that he would only want to stay in London.”
Time to worry
West Ham have done superbly well in recent seasons to fend off Premier League rivals from Rice. Both Chelsea and Manchester United seem to sniff around for his signature every window, but so far the Hammers have kept hold of their highly-rated captain.
Football Insider are now claiming that Liverpool are among Rice’s admirers, with Jurgen Klopp desperate to bolster his midfield department at Anfield.
With more and more Premier League giants coming knocking, it only seems a matter of time until either the club cave in and accepts an offer, or Rice starts to make demands.
So far, the West Ham academy graduate has been very respectful about his transfer links, but fans will be dreading the day he hands in a transfer request.
The Irons should be doing everything possible to tie him down on the biggest, longest contract, but it’ll be a hard task with so many offers coming in from elsewhere.
It’d be a huge surprise if Rice upped and left in January, but summer will be the worry for West Ham. It could be yet another long window.