West Ham’s Declan Rice has been linked with a switch to Chelsea and Liverpool this summer, but it appears that he won’t be leaving the Hammers this transfer window
That’s according to Alex Crook of TalkSport, who claims the England international has a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ in place with West Ham.
Rice has reportedly agreed to give West Ham one more year before he leaves next summer.
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Even then though, Rice won’t be leaving the Hammers on the cheap. The 23-year-old’s current deal with the East London club expired in 2025.
Rice, who was with Chelsea as a youngster, is admired by a plethora of Premier League clubs.
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Manchester United’s midfield needs some extensive surgery over the coming transfer windows, and they are understood to be long-term admirers of Rice.
As for Chelsea, their currently preferred midfield duo of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante is ageing, and a player of the calibre of Declan Rice would go some way towards replacing either one of those two.
Liverpool on the other hand have postponed their pursuit of a new midfielder to next summer after spending heavily on the likes of Darwin Nuñez, Calvin Ramsay, and Fabio Carvalho this transfer window.
The Reds are the current favourites to capture Jude Bellingham’s signature next summer, but Rice is reportedly viewed as a viable alternative.
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Rice is likely viewed as an ideal long-term replacement for Jordan Henderson who turns 33 next summer.
The battle to sign Rice will be fierce after a number of impressive seasons for the midfielder at West Ham.
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Even if Liverpool do sign Bellingham, Jordan Henderson isn’t the only ageing engine room man at Anfield, so the Reds could be tempted to pursue both the Borussia Dortmund man and Rice in the future.
Clubs will be lining up to sign Declan Rice, and even though he’d be an expensive acquisition for any eventual suitor, Liverpool wouldn’t want to miss out on a player of such talent.
It would appear the restructuring of Jürgen Klopp’s midfield will come at some cost to Liverpool.
Topics: Declan Rice, Liverpool, Chelsea, Liverpool Transfer News & Rumours