David Moyes has hinted that West Ham may have to sell star player Declan Rice.
The 21-year-old is among the most promising young talents in the Premier League at the moment and has done very well for the Hammers so far. This season, Rice has made 26 appearances for the London club, providing an assist against Bournemouth.
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According to Metro, Manchester United are interested in signing the England international who is valued at £80million by West Ham, with Hammers manager David Moyes calling Rice the best holding midfielder in England and suggesting that the club could lose him.
The Scot has been in this situation before, acknowledging similarities with star players being poached from his Everton team during his time in charge at Goodison Park.
As quoted by Guardian, the former Manchester United boss said: “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. Declan is carrying a lot of the team at the moment and he’s the one who will carry on from Mark Noble when it comes to an end for him.
“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.”
Rice is one of West Ham’s most important players so the club would obviously prefer if he stays for a while. However, a player of his potential is bound to attract interest from bigger clubs. Hence, it won’t be any surprise if Rice leaves the club in the summer. The Hammers would try to make a good profit from his transfer so that they can sign a suitable replacement.