West Ham United are ready to double star-midfielder Declan Rice’s wages to an eye-watering £120,000-per week after successfully warning off domestic rivals Chelsea earlier this summer.
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Rice, 21, joined the Hammers’ youth academy all the way back in 2013 from Chelsea’s with the Englishman since going on to feature in 114 senior first-team matches for West Ham.
The young midfielder was reportedly a target for Frank Lampard’s Chelsea who were hopeful they could extend their summer spending spree and land the resolute defensive midfielder, as per The Times.
However, despite a summer of flirting, Rice and Chelsea failed to get together after the Hammers slapped a whopping £80m valuation on the Englishman.
According to The Sun West Ham are ready to double Rice’s wages in an attempt to reward their star-man and bump him up the salary structure to better match the club’s other top-earners.
The Sun’s report claims that the likes of Felipe Anderson who recently departed to join FC Porto on loan is earning £120,000-per week and Andriy Yarmolenko on just over £100,000-per week.
It is believed that owners David Sullivan and David Gold know they must make Rice one of the club’s top-earners in order to better reflect not just his domestic status, but also his international status after becoming an England regular under Gareth Southgate.
Rice currently has three-years left on his deal after being two-years into the contract which expires in the summer of 2023.