By Daniel Feliciano

14th Apr, 2023 | 7:10pm

Personal terms not an issue for Declan Rice to Arsenal as West Ham United refuse to discuss sale

West Ham have so far refused to get into a discussion about the sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal in the summer, according to The Independent (14 April).

The Hammers captain is expected to leave the club in a record-sale this summer, with current league leaders Arsenal seen as the frontrunners for his signature.

But while it’s believed that personal terms will be “easy to agree”, West Ham have not yet given up hope of keeping Rice because of their £100m asking price which has already seen Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool drop out of the race.

According to journalist Miguel Delaney, Jurgen Klopp’s side cannot afford the price while Man United have prioritised a striker and Man City have moved on to other targets.

But West Ham are hopeful they can keep Rice if they avoid relegation, as they will be under no pressure to sell for less than their initial asking price.

Spot on

Obviously nobody wants to see Rice leave the London Stadium, and while it may be inevitable at this stage this is the exact right approach to it.

We have got far bigger fish to fry right now with our battle against relegation meaning we have to be fully focused, and we need the players to be too.

Once the summer comes around and we know what’s happening then we can listen to what other clubs have to offer for Rice, because it’s clear the player wants to go.

However he has a contract in place and we can’t be offering out discounts just because other teams don’t want to pay his asking price.

He is worth every penny we ask for and more, and if another team doesn’t want to pay that then they clearly don’t want him that much and he’d be more loved and appreciated at the London Stadium anyway.