Trouble at West Ham! Coufal and Rice both reject first offers of new contracts

West Ham have had a dream year. From the relegation places, they have battled their way up to the Europa League. However, not everything is as rosy as it might seem. There are reports that the club is running out of funds. No reinforcements are coming in and, on the contrary, players are not signing new contracts.

The London club is in trouble. After a very successful season, the goals were high. Everyone was clear about who to bring in and who would stay. However, everything has turned around and three weeks after the transfer window opened, West Ham have been relegated.

Zero activity in the transfer market

No speculation is surfacing and while rivals are merrily buying players that the public had thought to be West Ham’s transfer targets, the Hammers are silent. Patson Daka was the loudest name until Leicester bought him for a tidy sum of €30m.

Alex King was rumoured before the Euros, but interest in him seems to have waned due to the failed championship. There is talk of Milenkovic from Fiorentina for the stopper position.

The struggles for the 23-year-old stopper with the giants of Italian football may also have had something to do with the statement of Juventus chairman Agnelli, who classified West Ham as a debt-ridden club with a not very good financial background.

(Non)signing of new contracts

Everything looked good even after the signing of a new contract with manager David Moyes. However, the problems started with the players. Declan Rice, who is supposed to earn £62,000 a week, the 7th highest paid player at the club, turned down the first two offers of new contracts.

There are also rumours that the Europa League is not enough for him and he would like to find a new job that will guarantee him the Champions League. Moreover, the club got him for free, so turning down large sums will be hard to explain for a disgruntled player.

Another refusal came from Vladimir Coufal. The Czech international was offered a new contract during the Euros. However, his agents refused it. A new contract was also on the cards because of his relatively low salary.

In fact, the right-back is only the 20th highest paid in the team, earning £27,000 a week in London. His salary exceeds that of his replacement Ryan Fredericks by 10,000.

Coufal’s contract expires in 2023 and Declan Rice won’t lose him until 2024. However, the dissatisfaction of such players due to insufficient contract is something a club like West Ham cannot afford.

SkySports, Salary Sport