Journalist Alex Crook has claimed that West Ham United will only have Declan Rice for one more season as he expects him to leave next summer.
A recent report from 90min has stated that West Ham have rejected Chelsea’s latest bid for the England international, with their asking price still standing at a whopping £150m.
Rice was released from the Chelsea academy as a youngster, which led to him signing for the Hammers, and since his emergence into the first team, he has been a mainstay in the side, having already notched 195 appearances at the age of 23.
Despite West Ham rejecting an offer for Chelsea this summer, Crook claimed on TalkSport that he expects Rice to part ways with the club next summer, as part of a ‘gentleman’s agreement’.
He said: “I think Declan Rice will give West Ham one more year. I think there’s almost a gentleman’s agreement – although we know they don’t mean much in football from the Harry Kane saga last summer – that he will do that. I expect him to leave next summer.”
Do you think Rice will stay at West Ham this summer?Yes
No
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TIF Thoughts on Crook’s comments…
If West Ham were to see Rice leave this summer, it would be a huge loss for them, because last season in the Premier League, he averaged the highest player rating (7.19), had the highest amount of accurate passes (54.8) and averaged the most interceptions per game (1.8), as per SofaScore.
With West Ham failing to qualify for Europa League ahead of next season, Rice might be thinking that he can play for a more successful side as he is a key player in the England squad and playing with players that are competing in the Champions League, so if he does not leave this summer, he will certainly be expected to leave at the end of next season.
Not sure why we’re supposed to be worried by this. It’s one person’s guess that a ‘sort of’ gentleman’s agreement is in place. They don’t know anything for certain, and are just speculating out loud. It means nothing. The facts are that Declan is a WH player and could remain so for another three years without a new contract. But I will now speculate he’s going to renew his contract at West Ham. Now write that up as a major story – it carries as much weight as the nonsense about a gentleman’s agreement. And also sounds more believable…