Declan Rice to leave West Ham
Declan Rice is set to leave West Ham this summer. This news comes after the West Ham midfielder captained his side to its first European title in 58 years as West Ham defeated Fiorentina 2-1 in the UEFA Europa Conference League final.
Club chairman David Sullivan put a damper on the celebration, however, with a defeated Declan Rice announcement.
“In due course, he has to get on and we have to get a replacement, or several replacements. It’s not something we want to happen. We offered him £200,000-a-week 18 months ago. He turned it down,” said Sullivan. “It’s cost him £10m to stay at West Ham in that time. And he wants to go. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there.”
All quotes via ESPN
Rice has been rumored to be leaving for over a year now. He rejected a whopping eight-year contract extension from the club in May 2022, which would have made Rice the highest-paid player in club history.
Despite rejecting the contract, he did not move last summer and instead stayed with West Ham for the 2022-2023 season. He helped the club avoid relegation and has now delivered them a European trophy.
However, although Rice loves the club, he has ambitions to win trophies and play in the Champions League.
More on Declan Rice’s future ✨
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 8, 2023
◉ Arsenal have official bid ready since May, it will be submitted soon.
◉ Xhaka to Leverkusen to happen right after new midfielder deal.
◉ Bayern want Rice; they feel priority is to stay in England.
◉ Nothing sealed/agreed yet. pic.twitter.com/aRyFh5MziF
Interest in the England international is incredibly high. Arsenal is thought to be leading the race for his signature as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of their return to the Champions League next season.
The Gunners are preparing to submit a club-record £92 million bid for Declan Rice. If West Ham accepts, Granit Xhaka would be allowed to move to Bayer Leverkusen and Rice would immediately slot into the midfield for Arsenal.
However, West Ham wants £100 million for Rice, a pricetag that might deter Mikel Arteta and Arsenal.
Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle and Liverpool also have an interest in him. Bayern is also interested, but it is believed he wants to stay in England.
Rice chose not to engage when asked about his future, giving a coy response when asked about it after the Conference League final.
“My focus is playing for West Ham at the moment. I’m captain of this club and I can’t speak highly enough of this place,” said Rice. “Let’s just see what happens. Let’s wait and see. Who knows?”
It will be interesting to see where Declan Rice ends up this summer.
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