talkSPORT pundit Adrian Durham has suggested that Declan Rice will leave West Ham in the summer transfer window.
The 23-year-old Hammers ace has firmly established himself as the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League this season. In fact it could be argued that there is nobody better in world football at doing what he does.
Rice has evolved into more of a box-to-box midfielder this term and it is now fair to say that he is a truly world-class footballer.
Read also: West Ham hopes officially over as Borussia Dortmund confirm ‘world-class’ free transfer
The 27-capped England international is a hugely important figure at the London Stadium and is undoubtedly the most important player David Moyes has at his disposal.
Keeping him at West Ham will be a real challenge unless the board back Moyes to the hilt in the transfer window over the course of the next year or so.
Dec is under contract with the Hammers until the summer of 2024 and the club have the option of extending that deal by a further 12 months. So we hold all of the cards.
With Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City all eyeing up summer moves for Rice though (The Telegraph), our task of keeping hold of him will be far from easy.
Adrian Durham makes Declan Rice claim
The talkSPORT shock-jock was speaking about the Hammers star man during his radio show this morning.
And Durham had some very simple advice for the West Ham fans regarding Declan Rice:
“It’s a massive opportunity that the West Ham board have missed in this window. It’s basically a message to Declan Rice saying ‘we’re not going to invest in the squad so you might as well go elsewhere’. So my message to West Ham fans is this: they need to enjoy every single moment of seeing Declan Rice in a West Ham shirt because he is one of West Ham’s best players ever in the modern era. There’s been some greats along the way but in this era, Rice leads the way. Every chance you get to see Declan Rice play in a West Ham shirt, savour every moment.”
Durham has absolutely nailed this.
Usually his rants are dramatic to say the least in order to generate clicks and hits on the talkSPORT website.
This time though, nobody can argue with the point he is making. Why would Declan want to stay at West Ham when it is so abundantly clear that the owners have no interest in investing in the team?
Hopefully that changes in the summer and we get one more year at least out of the 23-year-old. This club without Declan Rice will be a whole lot worse off. If there is any way for Moyes and the owners to keep him at the London Stadium, they should be doing it no questions asked.
Sadly though, the writing appears to already be on the wall.
Read also:
West Ham fans really need to see what Yarmolenko did after Rice scored vs Kidderminster
Report: GSB made £55m January bid but PL club wouldn’t sell due to relegation worries
25-year-old was so bad vs Kidderminster, he should never wear the West Ham shirt again
Opinion: West Ham secure huge coup by tying ‘De Bruyne wannabe’ down to new deal
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
