Things seem to be going from bad to worse for West Ham United at the moment, and the news that one of their best players could be sold to Manchester United in the summer is unlikely to go down well.
Declan Rice has long been coveted by the Red Devils according to Metro, and they report that Hammers manager, David Moyes, could now be forced into selling the 21-year-old midfielder.
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A fee of £80m would appear to be the starting point for discussions, and though Rice is highly-rated by his manager, there appears to be a grudging acceptance that a deal could be done.
“In my mind he is arguably the best holding midfield player in the country and the best thing about Declan is he will get better,” Moyes said, the Metro report states.
“Quite often when building a club you have to sell. I hope it’s not the case with Declan but I said the same with Wayne Rooney and Joleon Lescott [at Everton].
“But the team got better because we were able to sign the right players to replace them. If that ever came around [Rice leaving] I’d hope we’d be able to do the same here as well.”
It’s hardly the unequivocal ‘not for sale’ statement that might be expected from someone in Moyes’ position.
Should the Hammers go down, it’s entirely likely that Rice won’t be the only sale either. A mass exodus of high earners could well be on the cards, as the east Londoners look to rebuild.
Even if they were to stay up, the team have actually got worse, not better, since moving into the London Stadium, and the entire squad and club need a lift and a shake-up.
Suggestions from the owners back in 2015 that West Ham could be a major force in Europe in five years, per MailOnline, look further away than ever at this point.