West Ham Zone View: Exit fears worryingly stoked as pundit tips star Hammer to leave the club
It seems that the West Ham United supporters have been worrying about star midfielder Declan Rice leaving pretty much since he emerged.
The 21-year-old’s impressively consistent performances at such a young age have meant that he’s constantly been linked with clubs like Manchester United and Manchester City.
However, that sort of talk appears to have quietened of late. Perhaps that’s down to the team’s struggles, perhaps it’s due to a slight decrease in the level of his displays.
Still, no-one in east London will mind that speculation surrounding their brightest talent has tailed off.
Until now, that is.
Former England international Danny Mills has once again got the drum banging for the England international’s London Stadium exit.
“They’re also realistic, because you have to think that if they go down, there’s going to be a huge issue financially for them,” he told Football Insider.
“Does he want to be fighting relegation battles, season in, season out? Probably not. Again it’s big big money, and it’s very very difficult to turn down at times.
“He might want to go. He might be thinking ‘I want to start playing Champions League, enhance my international career’. I wouldn’t be surprised, if there’s a huge fee that comes in for him, that he’s allowed to go.”
Mills is stoking the fears of the West Ham fans, here, but he certainly has a point. There can’t be many Hammers supporters who would really blame Rice if he accepted a move to a Champions League club at the end of the campaign.
If the Irons go down then it’s almost certainly he’ll be sold and, perhaps from a financial perspective, absolutely necessary that he’s offloaded.
From a careerist point of view, why would he stay at the London Stadium, particularly under these owners?
He’s a top class midfield destroyer who could perhaps become world class in the right environment. Right now nobody would argue that West Ham is the place for that to happen.
You do get the sense that Rice’s eventual exit is inevitable, but with the team slipping closer and closer to the Championship, it could come sooner than we think.
In other West Ham news, a former Premier League striker has told the club that they must offload one Hammers stalwart.