West Ham bid already in for Rice replacement as Moyes learns new rival for Chelsea reject

West Ham have wasted no time in making their own bid for a midfielder after receiving some serious offers for Declan Rice, a report has revealed.

There has been a sense of inevitability lingering over West Ham in recent weeks that Rice has played his final game for the club. If that is the case, he is going out on a high note after lifting the Europa Conference League trophy as their captain (and the competition’s player of the season).

But his departure will be an emotional moment when the time comes. With just a year remaining on his contract, though, the Hammers have found themselves in a difficult position.

Rice remains a top target for Arsenal, who earlier submitted a new bid worth a guaranteed £100m and then £5m in add-ons.

The development led to one of Rice’s other suitors, Man City, withdrawing their interest. Indeed, Pep Guardiola’s side have no interest in matching that valuation of the England international.

Therefore, West Ham will now have to pay more careful consideration to Arsenal’s bid, which they haven’t yet accepted.

Nevertheless, reports elsewhere are indicating that West Ham have already placed their own offer for someone who could feasibly replace Rice.

Recently, they were said to be in talks to sign Denis Zakaria from Juventus after his loan spell at Chelsea. Now, Tutto Juve has relayed that the Serie A side have ‘already received’ an offer from West Ham for the midfielder.

West Ham and Lens make identical offers for Zakaria

The bid is said to be worth €15m, which equates to just under £13m. However, it has just been matched by Ligue 1 side Lens, who have qualified for next season’s Champions League but are bracing themselves to lose Seko Fofana to Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

Either West Ham or Lens will have to up their offer for Zakaria to satisfy Juventus, though. The actual asking price for the Switzerland international is €20m (around £17.3m).

In other words, they could get Zakaria for a fraction of the price they would be selling Rice for. In turn, they could reinvest in other areas of their squad as well.

Things didn’t entirely go to plan for Zakaria during his spell with Chelsea, which began at the start of September 2022 – just seven months after he had joined Juventus from Borussia Monchengladbach.

In the Premier League, Zakaria only started five matches and came on as a substitute in two more. Chelsea subsequently decided against buying him via a permanent transfer.

But suitors like Lens and West Ham remember what his form was like before for Borussia Monchengladbach. Each will be hoping to make more progress with their pursuits soon.

At the age of 26, Zakaria still has plenty to prove and could yet get his second chance in the Premier League.

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