Declan Rice will be permitted to leave this summer, according to West Ham chairman David Sullivan; Rice is being watched by Man City, and Bayern Munich and Manchester United have also expressed interest; An English player won the Europa Conference League trophy earlier this month while playing for the Hammers.
Declan Rice’s opening offer from Arsenal, reported to be worth £80 million plus add-ons, has been rejected by West Ham.
In the next few days, the Gunners are anticipated to return with a better offer, while Manchester City is also monitoring the situation of the Hammers captain.
After West Ham defeated Fiorentina in Prague, the England international became just the third West Ham captain to win a major trophy, sparking attention from Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
Rice still has two years on his contract, but when talkSPORT questioned Sullivan if the Europa Conference League victory would be his last performance for the team, Sullivan responded as follows: “I think it has to be. We promised him he could go.
“He set his heart on going and in due course he has to get on and we have to get a replacement.
“It is not something we wanted to happen. We offered him £200,000 a week 18 months ago and he turned it down. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there.
“I think the offers will start to come. Three or four clubs have shown interest but out of respect to West Ham, while we’re still playing, you don’t make offers for players.”
Following the triumph in Prague, Rice proclaimed his love for West Ham but said he is unsure if he would remain at the team for the upcoming campaign.
“I’ve still got two years left,” Rice told Sky Sports News.
“There’s so much speculation – I see it all the time – but I can’t help that. That comes with playing football every day and doing what I do.
“My focus, and it has been since the World Cup, is to win this trophy and keep West Ham in the Premier League.”
He added: “I genuinely don’t know what’s happening at the minute. That is my honest answer.
“To read it myself [the speculation], it’s actually getting quite boring. Who knows what is going to happen? It’s flattering to be wanted by a lot of clubs but the badge on my chest is West Ham.
“I’ve still got two years left on my contract and ultimately it is up to the people above.”
