West Ham have just hours to stop Declan Rice quitting London Stadium
West Ham “have 90 minutes to keep Declan Rice” at the London Stadium after their Europa League loss to Frankfurt last night, according to The Times.
David Moyes’ men lost 2-1 in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final showdown with Frankfurt at the London Stadium on Thursday [28 April], meaning they have it all to do in Germany in the second leg next week.
The Times reports that Rice, 23, will be tempted to quit the Irons unless they are able to turn it around in Frankfurt next week and at least make the Europa League final.
The newspaper adds that the England midfielder has rejected three contract offers and their stance on selling him this summer is likely to be softer.
Journalist Gary Jacob signs off the report by writing: “Money talks and if West Ham cannot turn around the tie or make up ground in the Premier League to qualify for Europe, they will have nothing to persuade him from looking elsewhere.”
Absolute must-win
We really didn’t expect to lose to Frankfurt at home.
West Ham have been so good in Europe this season that while we did expect a tough game against the Bundesliga club, we really didn’t see a home defeat as being on the cards.
Moyes’ men simply had to win last night because the away leg at Frankfurt next week is bound to be very, very tough.
However, we are still backing the Hammers to do it.
Rice is a Champions League-quality player who deserves to be playing in Europe’s most elite competition.
And he can do that next season in East London if West Ham win the Europa League.
If they make the final, at least he might feel as though there’s some real potential at this football club.
However, if they don’t manage to make it to Seville, we do worry about what the future holds for the incredible midfield star.
Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea have all reportedly held interest in signing Rice.
Chelsea’s ownership issue is yet to be resolved and it remains to be seen if United can afford to sign the England ace.
But if Man City come calling for Rice, we’ll be extremely worried unless he knows he’ll be playing in the Champions League group stages next season.
In other West Ham news, the winner has been named in West Ham’s race to seal a major centre-forward signing in the summer.
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