West Ham United crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday night after being defeated in Germany at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Hammers went into the second leg 2-1 down on aggregate, needing to win in Germany to give themselves a chance of making the final. It was the worst possible start with Aaron Cresswell’s red card 19 minutes in.
Do you think Rice will leave West Ham in the summer?Yes
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Rafael Borre then scored for the hosts with the only goal on the night after 26 minutes to settle the tie 3-1. The 10 men of West Ham had no answers and couldn’t extend their extraordinary European campaign.
There have already been reports suggesting Declan Rice has turned down multiple contract offers from the Hammers amid reports of interest from the likes of Manchester United.
Simon Jordan has been looking at the implications on the club after being knocked out of the competition, talking on talkSPORT, he had the following to say:
“I think this boy will leave in the summer [Declan Rice]. I think he probably wants to leave and I think someone will make a compelling offer. Now, will West Ham have the same central resolve that Daniel Levy had with Harry Kane? Which is what we’ve been lead to believe is bid away, bid what you want, you’re not getting him.”
“I think that Declan Rice will leave in the summer and that creates a conundrum for them because to replace Declan Rice is a tall order. Everyone goes on, everyone is replaceable, no one is irreplaceable, but it’s very diminishing when you lose a player that’s been so influential, as Martin [Keown] alludes to and so much the reason why West Ham are in the position they’re in alongside the manager.”
TIF thoughts on Simon Jordan’s comments…
You have to agree with Jordan here, if a club from higher in the table and in Europe comes in for Rice, it could be hard to keep hold of him depending on the offer and who from. There’s no guarantee, but you could certainly see it happening.
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While no one is irreplaceable like Jordan claims, Rice has played 47 times already this season, captaining the side on most of those occasions, so his importance is huge to the Hammers and can’t be understated.
And Rice has built a strong bond with the West Ham fans over recent years having taken on the captain’s armband from Mark Noble, so this will be far from what the Hammers fans will want to hear.
In other news, Tomas Soucek’s future in doubt?