West Ham United make definitive Declan Rice transfer decision
West Ham United are absolutely adamant that they will not sell star midfielder Declan Ric in this transfer window, according to The Mirror.
It was reported on 24 June by 90min that Chelsea had made an approach for the 23-year-old but the Irons rejected it almost instantly as the Blues look to bolster their squad under new ownership.
There is the possibility that Todd Boehly, the new Chelsea chairman, returns with an offer of cash plus Armando Broja and Ross Barkley in an attempt to twist the arm of West Ham into striking a deal.
But one source at the London Stadium told the Mirror that Rice would unequivocally not be sold this summer with David Moyes hoping to build his midfield around the England international.
Over the course of the 2021-22 season, Rice proved his importance to the Irons by playing 48 games across all competitions without including all the games he played for Gareth Southgate’s side too.
“Declan Rice has played every game as if it’s his first and I think that’s admirable for someone so young to want to be as good as he can be and West Ham fans will tell you Declan drives that team,” talkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino said on 1 January as he waxed lyrical about the West Ham ace.
Shift
This summer seems like the first in history where we can say that one of our players is obtainable for any other club in the world with some degree of certainty.
In the past, whatever number we put on our star players, the biggest clubs in the country, and occasionally n Europe, could easily swoop in and pay to leave us to sheepishly accept the offer.
But as we take this unwavering stance on the future of our star player, you can’t see where any team in world football is going to find the money (within financial fair play rules) to take him away from us.
We are no longer a club that can be picked apart willy-nilly by the top clubs of the Premier League and that makes us one step closer to being within that elite group ourselves.
It’s no secret however that we need to keep processing and qualify for the Champions League very soon if we want to ensure Rice signs a new deal before his current contract expires in the summer of 2024.