Frank McAvennie drops Declan Rice to Liverpool verdict as West Ham United exit talk grows
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 doesn’t believe Declan Rice will sign for Liverpool in the summer as fresh West Ham United exit talk emerges.
The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano has claimed (Twitter, 5 February) that “all parties” now accept Rice is likely to leave the club in the summer.
However, McAvennie doesn’t believe the Hammers will be able to recoup £100million for the England international.
“No, I don’t think they’ll [Liverpool] be willing to pay that in the summer,” McAvennie exclusively told West Ham Zone.
“I don’t think Liverpool have a choice and that’s what Klopp’s so annoyed at. If they don’t get into the Champions League it’s going to limit who they’re going to buy.
“Rice doesn’t want to go to Liverpool if they aren’t in the Champions League, so I don’t think that will happen. His price is coming down because he’s not been playing as well as he can.
“Against Newcastle United, he was back to his best, but he’s got to do that more often. If they were going to go for that kind of money, they would go for Bellingham before Rice.
“It’s a strange situation, but £100million, all the best with that one. In today’s market, the money is getting extortionate, and he’s not been producing the goods regularly enough. It’s hard for me to see anyone worth that, it’s ridiculous money.”
It feels as if this will be Rice’s last six months in the Claret and Blue shirt and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Chelsea reignite their interest.
Arsenal are also understood to be lining up a bid for the midfielder and could have the edge considering they should qualify for the Champions League.