West Ham United have ‘gentleman agreement’ with Declan Rice – Alex Crook
West Ham United are now expected to keep hold of Declan Rice after months of transfer speculation and there could be a very good reason for that.
The 23-year-old midfield maestro was the star man for David Moyes’ side last season and still has two years left on his current contract at the London Stadium which meant that the Irons were in no rush to sell.
Manchester United and Chelsea tried to make a move for the England international but neither have matched the £150million asking price West Ham have put on his head [Daily Mail].
TalkSPORT reporter Alex Crook believes that the reason Rice has remained at the London Stadium is because of a gentleman’s agreement between himself and the club.
“I think Declan Rice will give West Ham one more year,” Crook said. “I think there’s almost a gentleman agreement that he will do that… although we know they don’t mean much in football from the Harry Kane saga last summer.
“I expect him to leave next summer and if Chelsea are a Champions League club, if they finish in the top four as I would expect them to, I think they’ll be right there knocking on West Ham’s door.”
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He might not play for West Ham as long as the likes of Mark Noble or Bobby Moore ever did but his impact on the team and the fanbase during his time with us has been incredible.
Whether he goes for big money next summer or for free in 2024 (if he goes at all that is) he should go down as a proper icon of the football club alongside those kinds of names having taken us from relegation-worriers to European challengers.
It’s not all his doing of course but without his monumental engine and talent in the middle of the park, the rest of the team would look significantly worse as a result and that is often a fact that is overlooked by many.
If he leads us as our new club captain to a remarkable FA Cup win or Champions League qualification then he could probably leave with his head held high and the admiration of every West Ham United fan across the globe, even if we’d rather he stayed forever.