West Ham United: Newcastle won’t shatter wage structure to sign Declan Rice with transfer ‘unrealistic’
Newcastle won’t shatter their wage structure to sign West Ham United captain Declan Rice with a deal now “unrealistic” even if Eddie Howe’s side qualify for the Champions League, according to the Daily Mail.
The Telegraph reported (17 April) that the Magpies are eyeing summer moves for Hammers duo Rice and Jarrod Bowen as they look to build upon their superb Premier League campaign that sees them currently sitting 4th with eight games remaining.
However, the Daily Mail has now shared that the Tyneside club won’t “shatter their wage structure” to sign the likes of Rice and Mason Mount, who would demand higher wages than current top earner Bruno Guimaraes, who is on £120,000 per week without bonuses.
“There is also a definite interest in West Ham’s Rice, but the figures are similar to those of his England team-mate [Mount].” they wrote.
“We have been told that would make a Newcastle move ‘unrealistic’ at this stage, especially as the latest set of accounts showed an unsustainable wages-to-turnover ratio of 95 per cent.”
Long shot
Rice completing a move to St James’ Park feels like a long shot considering the other top Premier League side who are interested in the midfielder’s services.
With Arsenal and Chelsea previously reporting interest in the Hammers captain and looking like they should have the money to pay the sky-high valuation the club have slapped on him, Newcastle were always going to be outsiders.
Under their new ownership, the Magpies have to be careful about making any breaches into financial fair play, and signing the likes of Rice or Mount could certainly edge them into murkier waters.
If Newcastle were to sign the 24-year-old, the wages he was on would have a knock-on effect on the rest of the squad.
Looking around the dressing room, some of the players, such as Guimaraes and Alexander Isak, may be wondering why they’re on almost half of Rice’s wages and therefore make demands for an increase in their own contract.
For a number of reasons, Rice to Newcastle just doesn’t seem to add up.