Going nowhere? West Ham remain adamant they won’t sell Declan Rice this summer
(Picture: Action Images via Reuters)West Ham remain adamant that Declan Rice will not be sold this summer and are ready to wait until after the transfer window to revisit talks over his future.
The England midfielder has two years left to run on his existing contract but the club have the option of a further 12 months beyond that, meaning his current deal effectively lasts until the summer of 2025.
The Hammers had moved to tie the 23-year-old down but Rice has so far rejected all offers of a new contract, including a deal worth around £200,000-per-week that would have made him the highest-paid player in the club’s history.
West Ham are under no pressure to sell and though dialogue with Rice’s camp will remain open, there is no rush to make a new offer until after the window has passed.
Rice is understood to be open to a move but the club value him at £150million and are confident of keeping their prized asset this summer despite long-standing interest from Manchester United and Chelsea.
Thomas Tuchel suggested last month that Chelsea may be priced out of a deal in the post-Roman Abramovich era and in any case have more urgent needs to address, such as in defence amid the imminent departures of Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger on free transfers.
Rice would be a dream signing for Manchester United, but they too may baulk at that price tag in a summer when a major revamp of their squad is planned under new manager Erik ten Hag.
Following Mark Noble’s retirement at the end of the season, Rice is expected to inherit the West Ham captaincy on a permanent basis ahead of the new campaign.
Keeping him at the London Stadium will be a crucial part of David Moyes’ plan to kick on following the success of this season and after being named Hammer of the Year at the club’s end-of-season awards earlier this week, Rice himself claimed he was “ready to go again” in Europe next term after last week’s Europa League semi-final defeat in Frankfurt.
"We've proved that we can play in big European games and our fans and our stadium have shown we can handle those big European nights, and that's what we want more of,” he said.
