talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has just performed a complete 180 on West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice.
The 23-year-old has been in sensational form for the Hammers over the past couple of years.
In other news…Report: Club now in talks to sign West Ham first-teamer ahead of summer window
And his fine performances have clearly not gone unnoticed with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all thought to be interested in acquiring his signature (The Telegraph).
West Ham boss David Moyes is digging his heels in though, and will not be selling the all-action midfielder for anything less than £150 million according to The Daily Mail.
So is there a chance that Declan Rice will still be playing at the London Stadium next season?
Simon Jordan believes that there very much is. And that view is in stark contrast to the one he shared just three months ago…
Simon Jordan delivers verdict on Declan Rice
The Hammers stand-in skipper has evolved into one of the very best central midfielders in world football over the past year or so.
Dec has reached a new level entirely since the Euros last summer and it is no surprise that he is now an extremely highly sought-after commodity.
Simon Jordan spoke to talkSPORT and discussed whether Declan Rice will be at West Ham next season:
“Declan Rice is a completely different animal (to Wilfried Zaha). He occupies a position that is a very rare breed of player plays in it. We’ve got a lot of wingers, we don’t have a lot of players who play the way Declan Rice does. West Ham are in a good moment in time. They’ve got a new ownership potentially going to take over from Gold and Sullivan so I don’t think we’re going to see Declan Rice at this stage of his career, or any stage of his career, appear to have missed the boat. He’s the mainstay of the England team. He’s the player that everyone is looking at thinking, ‘where is he going to go and how much is he going to go for?’. Is he worth £100m? Is any footballer worth £100m? My answer would be no, but he’s worth £100m if someone is prepared to write a cheque out for that. Of course he’s worth £100m by the standards that already exist, because Jack Grealish has gone for £100m. Declan Rice will be a star. No two ways about it. It’s just where he goes and the right move that he takes. If he stays at West Ham and they continue to evolve that’s great, if he moves to potentially a bigger club then it has to be the right bigger club.”
Now, Jordan has completely changed his tune on Declan Rice.
In January, the talkSPORT pundit claimed that the 23-year-old would not play 200 games for West Ham and would leave before the start of next season.
And now Jordan is suggesting that Rice could in fact stay at West Ham for a little while longer yet.
You really couldn’t get more of a U-turn.
Rice is under contract at the London Stadium until the summer of 2024 and the Hammers have the option of extending that deal by a further 12 months.
If the West Ham owners show some real ambition in the transfer market this summer and back David Moyes to sign the players he wants, then we truly believe there is every chance that Declan Rice will stay at the London Stadium.
The Hammers seem to be on the precipice of achieving some real success. Keeping the 23-year-old in East London will be crucial to our hopes of doing just that.
And Simon Jordan believes there’s every chance that Declan Rice will still be a West Ham player next season.
Read also:
Report claims Moyes is desperate to sign £215k-a-week free agent but it doesn’t add up
Player West Ham sold for just £3m is hoping for call-up to England squad
Report: West Ham planning to ‘step in and sign extraordinary’ £9m winger in the summer
Insider: Moyes has a secret weapon as West Ham eye up blockbuster £60m striker signing
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
