West Ham captain on his way out! Where is he going?

Declan Rice is clearly West Ham’s biggest star. But with him fighting for salvation, which is not enough given his ambitions. So it is very likely that Rice will change employers in the summer. Where is the interest?

Declan Rice has been defending the colours of West Ham United since 2013, so he has been through the youth selections here. He has been playing for the A-team since 2017 and has 196 games in the Premier League.

The 24-year-old footballer is one of the best midfielders at the moment. West Ham are in thirteenth place in the Premier League table after 29 games played, but only three points separate them from the relegation positions.

Rice certainly has bigger ambitions, there has been a lot of interest in him in the past few years. There has been speculation about Chelsea in particular, where he has worked in the past. Although the Blues have quite a few options for the position, but the West Ham captain would probably be one of the key figures in the starting line-up.

Rice, however, would love to play in the Champions League. The only option would be to win the current edition of the “millionaire competition”, which would automatically ensure their participation in the upcoming season.

Arsenal, the current Premier League leader, would be the next bidder. Mikel Arteta’s charges are performing well in the current season, which puts them five points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the table.

Their participation in the Champions League is pretty much assured, so they should definitely strengthen their squad. Thomas Partey is a regular in the defensive midfielder position, with Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard a little higher up. On the substitutes’ bench we can find Jorginho or Vieira.

It will be very interesting to see how the future of the midfielder, who also plays regularly for the English national team, will develop. He is under contract at West Ham until 2024, and if there is no extension, the club will probably not hesitate to sell.

According to the reputable Transfermarkt website, Rice’s market value is around 80 million euros. However, the Hammers could probably ask for a bigger sum.

Source: West Ham, Transfermarkt