By Pranav Shahaney

5th May, 2023 | 5:10pm

Declan Rice may still stay at West Ham United amid Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle transfer links

Declan Rice may reportedly stay put at West Ham even though the club are sparking a bidding war for the 24-year-old this summer.

According to reliable London Stadium insiders Six Foot Two [05 May], even if Rice has a gentleman’s agreement with Arsenal or any of the clubs linked with him, namely Manchester United, Newcastle or Manchester United, it’s irrelevant as the Hammers hold the final say in his transfer.

This means that if he fails to agree terms with the highest bidder, there is a possibility that he may end up staying at the club beyond this summer.

Seems unlikely

From all his interviews, Rice seems nailed on to leave the club in the summer and one can understand his plight as well.

He’s stayed with the club through the bad times and played a key role in getting them to back-to-back European finishes.

Rather than building on that and establishing themselves as a top six or top seven side, they went in reverse and were fighting a relegation battle this season.

Rice is quality and he’s undoubtedly a player that deserves to play Champions League football and compete for top honours every season.

Even for West Ham, it makes no sense to not cash in on him as he clearly does not seem to want to stay at the club beyond this summer.

His agent is already in talks with multiple clubs so it’s pretty evident that he’s open to moving to other sides as well and not just Arsenal which does mean an exit is very likely.