Moyes discusses Declan Rice plans; warns Chelsea over price of deal

David Moyes Declan Rice West Ham TEAMtalk

David Moyes says he has no intention of allowing Declan Rice to leave West Ham this summer, but says it will cost “bank of England” money if a club do attempt to sign him.

Having impressed in recent years, Rice is being linked with a move away from the Hammers.

London rivals Chelsea are said to be interested as Frank Lampard looks to make changes to his squad. The Blues have already signed Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, while a swoop for Kai Havertz is reportedly edging closer.


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And Rice is believed to be abother on Lampard’s wishlist, with the FA Cup finalists ready to offer two players as part of the deal.

Manchester United are also keen on the 21-year-old, with one pundit suggesting Rice is an ideal long-term successor to Nemanja Matic.

NO PLANS TO SELL

However, both sides will face a battle to secure his signature, with West Ham planning to hold firm over their star man.

That is according to Moyes, who sent a clear message to interested parties considering making offers. As cited by the Evening Standard, the Scotsman said: “I’m confident he will be here [next season] because he’s under contract. But like anything else, whatever club you’re at even the biggest clubs sometimes sell their best players because they get the right value.

 

“My intention is not to sell Declan at all, my intention is to keep him. But we can’t stop other clubs making offers, but the truth is we’ve had no offers or nothing. Nobody has come to us.

“He’s a really good player and I see him helping us, and I hope he sees what we are trying to do. We’re going to try and add better players and add things to it which would make him excited about being at West Ham in the future.

“If somebody then turns up and offers you a bundle-load of cash then that’s a club decision. But if you sign a five-year deal anywhere… if you sign a five-year deal with your company then you know you’re probably there for five years. It’s no different for football players unless somebody comes along and poaches you.

“My plan is, you know what I think of Declan, I think he is a future captain of West Ham going forward. When Mark Noble comes to an end then hopefully it will be Declan Rice, so we’ve no intention of letting him go. If it does come it will need to be the Bank of England money.”

A VALUABLE PLAYER

After making his debut in May 2017, Rice quickly established himself in the Hammers’ side. He has since made over 100 senior appearances for the club.

He has also played a key role in their fight against relegation in the current campaign. Rice has played the full 90 minutes in all 36 of their league games so far. He also scored a fantastic long-range strike in their huge 3-1 win over Watford last week.

Losing Rice would undoubtedly be a blow for the Hammers. However, it seems inevitable that he will leave for pastures new at some point.