Nick Ware

Tue 19 October 2021 6:10, UK

Gary Neville believes Declan Rice needs to leave West Ham for a Champions League club in the future in order to continue his development.

Speaking on Monday Night Football [Sky Sports, 18/10/21] after Arsenal drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace, Neville and Jamie Carragher turned their attention to the Irons midfielder’s performance in Sunday’s 1-0 win at Everton.

After Carragher lavished praise on the England international, Neville offered a transfer prediction that is unlikely to see him win much support at the London Stadium.

Neville said: “I think the development will be at some point, and West Ham fans won’t like me saying this, that he’ll somehow have to obviously transfer to a club that’s going to the Champions League, where he plays in midfield with high expectations, where he’s playing against teams that are dropping deep every week.”

Constant chatter

Speculation over Rice’s future just refuses to go away.

There was constant talk over an Irons exit during the summer and his performances for England at Euro 2020, as well as his early-season displays in Claret and Blue, have further heightened the belief from many that his days as a West Ham player are set to end soon.

For West Ham, there are positives and negatives from this.

Obviously, no one connected to the club wants to see him leave, if at all possible.

However, the fact he is being talked about so much shows just how well he is doing for the Irons, and his performances in midfield are driving them to victory in the Premier League and Europa League.

The better he plays, the more his value soars as well.

An exit appears inevitable at some stage, but clubs will have to fork out a hefty fee to convince West Ham to part ways with their talisman.

In other West Ham news, the Irons have made contact over this 16-cap centre-forward amid his contract impasse.

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