West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice looks set to leave the east London club during the next summer transfer window, according to The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas.
Back in April, it was reported that the midfielder had turned down a third offer from the Hammers to sign a new contract at the club and is apparently open to leaving the London Stadium.
Some months later, while he was away on international duty with England during the World Cup, Rice hinted at a potential exit from West Ham, sharing his ambitions to win trophies and play in the Champions League.
Now that the latest January transfer window has been and gone, some worrying behind-the-scenes details have come to light regarding the Englishman’s future.
In a recent report for The Athletic, Thomas had this to say about what the summer could look like for Rice.
He said: “Declan Rice, the 24-year-old club captain, looks set to leave this summer with Arsenal, Chelsea and both Manchester clubs interested in the England international. Rice has expressed his desire to play in the Champions League and, given West Ham’s perilous position in the table, this is not something he will achieve in east London.”
Having played every minute of Premier League action for David Moyes’ side so far in this campaign, this shows just how important he is for the team.
Even though the Hammers have had a tough season by losing 12 of their 20 played matches, Rice has still shown how much of an impressive and pivotal figure he is for them in terms of his efforts on the pitch.
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For example, as well as having the highest average of interceptions per game (1.6) and the second-highest average of tackles per game (2.3), the 24-year-old also has the highest passing accuracy percentage (89.4%) out of players that have started at least one league game for West Ham.
Looking ahead to the summer, if Rice does end up waving goodbye to the club, the Hammers will have a significant job on their hands finding a suitable replacement for him.