Jim White details gentlemen’s agreement for Declan Rice to quit West Ham United, shares Tottenham verdict
Jim White has had his say live on talkSPORT on the reported “gentlemen’s agreement” between West Ham captain Declan Rice and chairman David Sullivan.
Rice’s West Ham future is making all the headlines at the moment following the club’s historic night in Prague where the midfielder captained his side to their first major trophy in 40-plus years.
Arsenal seems to be the 24-year-old’s most likely destination and it has been reported by the Daily Mail (8 June) that the Gunners are ready to swoop in with a £90million bid.
Chairman Sullivan has ensured that the club gave Rice their word that he would be able to leave while speaking with BBC Radio 5 Live after the Conference League final, as reported by BBC Sport (8 June): “We gave the promise last summer that if he gave us his all, we would let him leave the club. It’s a fair and proper thing to do.”
And White has had his say on this ‘promise’ live on talkSPORT, likening it to a recent similar promise involving Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Chairman Daniel Levy.
“It begs the question, how thin is trust in this industry? Contrasting to that, if you liken a gentleman’s agreement there between Sullivan and Rice, as opposed to the one Levy and Kane had.
“If you remember two years ago, Kane was branded naive and foolish to rely on a reported gentlemen’s agreement with Levy that he could leave in the summer following the signing of his new contract.”
No trust
Ultimately, White is correct to draw a comparison between the two situations. If Sullivan had changed his mind and told Rice he had no intention of selling him, or made it extremely difficult much like Levy did to Kane, Rice would have little room for complaint.
He has signed a contract and cannot rely on promises which aren’t binding. In the end, recent comments suggest Sullivan is a man of his word who will honour his promise, however, the situation could have played out differently.
As much as players and owners may have fantastic relationships, it all comes down to money and putting the club first and if Rice and Sullivan found themselves in a different situation, that promise might not have been so easy to keep without a contract to enforce it.
The boyhood West Ham player has given his all to the club however and is fully entitled to a move away if he wishes.