Sam Delaney has been speaking on the latest instalment of the U Irons podcast, where they discussed Declan Rice’s future.
The 22-year-old midfielder has been in sensational form for West Ham this season and has been instrumental in their surge up the Premier League table.
After starting in all 27 of the Hammers’ top-flight fixtures in the current campaign, Rice has won several plaudits for his performances throughout 2020/21 and was strongly linked with a move to Chelsea before Frank Lampard’s departure.
David Moyes has since come out and claimed that the England international is worth ‘far, far more than £100m’ in a bid to warn off any potential suitors thinking of making a move for his prized asset over the summer.
Delaney shared his views over Rice’s future, saying: “I think [Moyes] is right, but I tell you what, irrespective of the fee, I am now more confident than I’ve been in two years that Rice is going nowhere for the time being.
“If Man City come in for you and go, ‘Mate, we see you as our long-term replacement as captain. We’re putting you on a quarter of a million pounds a week, and you’re a guaranteed starter, you’re going to take over from Fernandinho’ – which is completely plausible, you can see Guardiola pitching it like that – that is, let’s be honest, even if West Ham end up finishing the season in 4th, even if we end up finishing the season 2nd, that is going to tempt him.
“But I think it’s got to be something of that extreme level that’s going to tempt him away.”
TIF Thoughts on Rice…
It’s been an incredible campaign for everyone involved with West Ham United, and it’s hard to imagine why anyone would be pining for a move away from the London Stadium right now.
Having had a long association with the club, he would surely be excited by the prospect of leading the side out if they manage to secure European football for next season.
He seems destined to make a big-money move to one of the countries ‘top teams’ at some point in his career, but leaving over the summer wouldn’t make any sense given the giant strides that West Ham have taken under Moyes.