The Athletic’s West Ham United correspondent Roshane Thomas has recently aired his belief that Declan Rice will not leave the club in January.
In recent months, the English defensive midfielder has been heavily linked with a move away from the London Stadium due to interest from Chelsea (via Daily Mail).
There have also been claims that the Blues could pay around £70m to seal his return to the club after he was released by them as a youngster.
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has even commented on the player’s release by the Stamford Bridge club as he said: “[We] wouldn’t say it’s a regret.”
During the latest episode of The Athletic’s U Irons podcast, Thomas discussed Rice and made an exciting claim regarding him not being sold in January.
He said: “No way, I can’t see him going at all in January.
“It’s something [that] I mentioned on the previous podcast, I feel like if West Ham were to sell him, it would be a better decision to do it after the Euros because his value will increase by then.
“Everyone thinks it’s going to be Chelsea, there’s going to be other teams coming in for Rice – not just Chelsea alone.”
TIF Thoughts on what Roshane Thomas said about Declan Rice…
As can be seen in what the reporter had to say, he believes that there is “no way” that the 21-year-old midfielder will leave the club during the January transfer window.
However, Thomas did temper that a little by airing his belief that there will be more than just Chelsea interested in Rice following the Euros next summer.
Do you think Declan Rice will be sold by West Ham in January?
No, he will be staying
Yes, he will be going
The initial claim will likely be an exciting one for Irons fans, though, as the midfielder is a key performer for them, so, keeping him beyond January would be a big boost.
Rice has made the joint-third-most tackles (1.7) and the most interceptions (2.1) per league match for West Ham this season (per WhoScored), which makes it evident that he is a vital player defensively.
So, hopefully, Thomas is correct and David Moyes’ side can fend off any interest in the Englishman during the winter transfer window.