It hasn’t taken long for West Ham to go from European contenders to relegation favourites, and that’s as much to do with David Moyes’ style as anything else, something which is likely to see club captain, Declan Rice, move on in the summer window.
Despite a price tag expected to be north of £100m – Jim White noted a figure of £120m + add ons according to talkSPORT – there are bound to be a number of clubs interested in the swashbuckling midfielder.
Writing in The Observer, Jacob Steinberg has intimated that Rice is likely to join London rivals Arsenal.
It’s a move that would make sense for a number of reasons too.
From a personal perspective, the player would be able to continue to base himself in and around the capital rather than having to up sticks and move to Manchester for example.
Professionally speaking, there are a small handful of clubs in the Premier League that are exciting to watch and progressive tactically, and the Gunners certainly fall into that bracket.
Top of the table for most of the season, though the title isn’t won yet Mikel Arteta’s side have been brave, ruthless, sometimes fortunate, but always on the front foot.
It’s a joy to watch them in action at the moment, which is the polar opposite of a laboured and predictable Hammers outfit.
Even if Moyes was able to guide the east Londoners to a Europa Conference League title, a competition in which they’ve a 100 percent record this season per The Observer, it’s unlikely to assuage Rice who deserves a crack at Champions League football.