West Ham United almost made a huge blunder when it comes to Declan Rice it has been revealed.
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Rice has been phenomenal for West Ham ever since breaking into the first team after impressing in the club’s academy.
And now he has become West Ham’s matchday captain and most valuable asset.
One of the best players in his position in Europe, Rice is a fully fledged England regular too.
More to Rice’s West Ham love story than meets the eye
With the West Ham midfield enforcer’s rising status comes the inevitable links with a move to a so-called bigger club.
One of those is Rice’s old club Chelsea, who released him as a 14-year-old. Frank Lampard is said to be a huge admirer and wants him at Stamford Bridge (The Express).
West Ham fans have been calling on the club’s owners David Sullivan and David Gold to reward Rice with a bumper new long-term contract which makes him the highest paid player at the club.
Hammers supporters have seen Aston Villa do just that with Jack Grealish.
Rice has previously admitted he was hurt after being rejected by his boyhood club Chelsea when they released him as a teenager.
West Ham gave Rice the platform to showcase his talent instead.
Insider reveals Hammers almost let Rice leave
But the 21-year-old’s fairytale West Ham story could have been so different.
That’s according to reliable insider ExWHUemployee who made a rather shocking revelation on the latest West Ham Way podcast (November 10), claiming the Hammers were close to releasing him too.
“A lot of them give up any real form of education to become footballers,” ExWHUemployee said on The West Ham Way podcast (November 10) when discussing the mental health and welfare element of players being released from professional clubs.
“The FA and other associations, I think they do more now but certainly in years gone by didn’t do enough to help players to deal with the (situation and sense of) failing that they suddenly find themselves in.
“You look at Declan for example. Declan’s a very down to earth fella that’s got a very strong family around him.
“But he’s gone from basically being rejected by Chelsea at 14, almost kicked out of West Ham. Don’t forget he was the last scholar of that year group to be offered a contract. Almost kicked out of West Ham and he would have probably been – unless he made his way up from the lower leagues – on the scrapheap with not much to show for it.
A sliding doors moment for Rice and West Ham
“But thankfully for him he had a strong family around him and he came back bigger and stronger and now look where he is. He’s gone from that, basically being a reject so to speak, to being an established England player.”
What a sliding doors moment that has proved to be for both parties.
And the prospect of no Rice will make West Ham fans shudder.
Along with Michail Antonio’s goals, Rice single-handedly kept West Ham up last season with his performances.
Now he is leading the club to what promises to be a much more promising campaign under David Moyes.
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