The last few days have seen West Ham United linked with two highly-rated youngsters who can count a trio of former Upton Park stalwarts among their admirers; Cardiff City’s Dylan Lawlor and Rangers’ Bailey Rice.
Capped six times by Wales and a breakthrough star during Cardiff’s promotion out of League One last season, both Danny Gabbidon and Craig Bellamy cannot speak highly enough of The Bluebirds’ ball-playing colossus.
According to The Athletic, Lawlor has cantered his way onto the summer wishlist of a West Ham United side who have already bid farewell to Axel Disasi, and may still move on Jean-Clair Todibo, Dinos Mavropanos and Max Kilman.
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Bailey Rice – no relation, before you ask – is another fresh-faced youngster to keep a close eye on in the coming weeks.
West Ham United position themselves for Rangers’ Bailey Rice
The Daily Record claim that West Ham, Ajax and recently-promoted Schalke are all circling around the Ibrox prospect. Rice has been offered a contract extension by Rangers but is yet to put pen to paper. His current deal expires in July.
Reports have indicated that Rangers could bank a compensation fee of just £300,000.
While Bellamy trusted Lawlor enough to start him up against Edin Dzeko in Wales’ heartbreaking World Cup play-off defeat by Bosnia, Rio Ferdinand was left awe-struck by Rice’s maturity, vision, and scalpel-like left-boot in early-2025.
“I’ll tell you what, I like Rice,” West Ham academy graduate Ferdinand told TNT Sports as Manchester United secured a dramatic 2-1 Europa League victory over Rangers at Old Trafford.
“He’s come on looking composed, and that left foot looks like it has a bit in it. He’s seeing pictures, playing and executing. [Rice can produce] a wonderful pass.”
Rice replaced Connor Barron at half-time that day. In just 45 minutes on the pitch, he produced the second-most key passes of any Rangers player.
The teenager would be limited to just two senior appearances during 2025/26, however, while undergoing surgery for a serious knee injury.
“He’s been plagued with injuries this season, which hasn’t been ideal for him. I know he’s out of contract in the summer,” club legend Barry Ferguson, who coached Rice briefly last year, told Go Radio recently.
“He’s a very good player. Left-footed. He’s got everything you would want in a midfielder. But I just don’t know what he’s thinking. If I’m Rangers, I would try and get him signed up on another contract because I do think he’s got the ability and the quality to play at Rangers.”
Rice at an Ibrox ‘crossroads’ as his contract runs down
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West Ham lured Daniel Cummings away from Celtic when his own contract ran down last summer. Any deal which takes Rice south of the border would earn inevitable comparisons, yet a lot may depend on what Rice views as the best step for his development. Under Nuno, the likes of Mohamadou Kante and Ezra Mayers have made their way into the first-team roster.
Others have found opportunities in the senior squad hard to come by, though, including Cummings himself.
West Ham do lack left-footers in central areas, though. And against second-tier opposition who may look to condense the pitch and defend deep, Rice’s ability to break the lines from deep could potentially see him catapulted pretty quickly into Nuno’s plans.
“Bailey Rice feels like he’s at a bit of a crossroads in terms of his career,” reporter Chris Jack said on the Rangers Review podcast in late-May. “It feels like it’s been a bit of a wasted season. He played 45 minutes, I think, at left-back against Alloa in the League Cup at Ibrox.
“After that, he was in a couple of squads, didn’t get on the park, and then suffered that injury around about November time, I think it was, which actually ended his season.
“So that was clearly a huge blow for him. It’s not been a good season for him.
“Does he sign [a new deal]? Does he think that Rangers is going to be the best place for him over the next two or three years of his career, or is it time to move on to go and try something else?”
A question that will feel all too familiar to the reported West Ham target.
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