England international Declan Rice reportedly has a ‘gentleman’s agreement with West Ham to stay for one more year amid interest from Chelsea.
Rice, a boyhood Chelsea fan, has quickly become a fan favourite. The 23-year-old played a pivotal role in helping his country reach a European Championship final, and has helped guide West Ham into Europe.
His performances have attracted the interest of a host of clubs in the Premier League, but according to talkSPORT, Rice has a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with West Ham to stay at the club for another year.
This is despite Chelsea’s heavy interest in the midfielder, a club Rice would surely be tempted by after spending some time in their academy as a kid.
Although a gentleman’s agreement means little in terms of officially ruling out a sale this summer, West Ham will be hoping Rice keeps his word after giving him a platform to express himself and develop into the player he is today.
With N’Golo Kante and Jorginho entering the final year of their contracts, a signing like Rice could be the ideal replacement and the man to allow Chelsea to begin to compete with Manchester City and Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.