Declan Rice was candid in addressing his long-term ambitions on the eve of England’s last-16 tie with Senegal.
“One hundred percent, I want to play in the Champions League,” he said. “For the last two or three years I have been saying this. I’ve been playing consistently well for my club and I feel like I really want to keep pushing. I see my friends here who are playing in the Champions League and for big trophies.”
At the World Cup, Rice showed she belongs on the biggest stage – starting every game for Gareth Southgate’s side.
“You only have one career and at the end you want to look back and see what you won and the most important games you played,” he said. “I really want to do this.”
At 23, Rice is the Premier League’s youngest captain and a key player for England and West Ham United. But he has yet to feature in Europe’s elite competition, having represented West Ham in both the Europa League and the Conference League for the past two seasons.
Rice’s contract expires in the summer of 2024 and there is an option to extend it for another year. Rice, who has rejected three contract offers, has no desire to sign a new deal and has made it clear he wants to win trophies and play regularly in the Champions League. It’s been more than nine months since the midfielder held contract talks with West Ham.
Rice would have been the highest paid player in the club’s history if he had accepted the club’s latest contract offer.
Under no circumstances will Rice be sold in January, but the club have admitted internally that they will have to sell him this summer.
West Ham tried to convince Rice to stay. This summer the club spent £165m on eight new arrivals with a proven international pedigree. For context, that window was only the second time in the club’s history that they’ve spent over £100m on signings, the other being in 2019-20 when Sebastien Haller and Pablo Fornals arrived.
But the midfielder still plans to leave this summer and the England international wants to go on amicable terms. He will not deliver a transfer request to force an exit. As it stands, no one is in pole position to secure Rice’s signature, but his stock has grown following his guaranteed performances in Qatar. It is not known when West Ham will activate the one-year option on Rice’s contract, but this summer is the last chance to earn a sizable fee for the midfielder.
“£100m was cheap last summer,” said manager David Moyes in April. “£150m now would be the minimum.”
If a club hits West Ham’s valuation, it would make Rice the most expensive British footballer in history. Importantly, there is no release clause in Rice’s contract. Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United have registered interest in the midfielder.
Respected market analysts CIES Football Observatory value Rice at €80m (£70m), which is significantly lower than West Ham’s valuation.
The next five months will mark Rice’s final chapter at West Ham. They expect their value to rise if they secure a European qualification or win the Conference League. Rice’s honest response about wanting to play in Europe’s elite competition came as no surprise to the West Ham hierarchy. They know their intentions and they realistically know that they cannot offer Champions League football.
Rice’s direct response would have alerted suitors, most notably Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly. He was at the Khalifa International Stadium for England’s 6-2 group stage win against Iran. Since succeeding Roman Abramovich, Chelsea’s new owners have spent a record £250m in their first transfer window. Chelsea would have an advantage over both Manchester City and Manchester United due to Rice’s previous affiliation.
Rice impresses for England in Qatar (Photo: David S. Bustamante/Socrates/Getty Images)
It is well documented that the midfielder was released by Chelsea aged 14. “That was all I ever knew, to be honest,” Rice said in an earlier interview. “From nine to 14, training there from Monday to Friday, playing and knowing that you will no longer be part of it was a big shock. I never thought this would have to happen, but it did.”
Coaches at the time felt that Rice lagged behind his peers in terms of development. Upon his release, the midfielder initially had interest from Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur. Dave Hunt – who was West Ham’s head of academy recruitment – convinced the Rice family that West Ham was the right club for his development.
Some of the questions about Rice at Chelsea were how he wasn’t progressive on the ball. However, members of the club’s staff felt that other areas of their game now made up for this. Given the rate at which he improved, they felt they needed to consider him as an option.
Chelsea are worried about losing Rice to rivals Manchester United or Manchester City. There are frustrations with the departures of Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne in 2016 and 2014 respectively, and there is an eagerness to right those wrongs.
Chelsea’s owners want a squad made up of players under 25, young and hungry who want to win trophies. Rice, who turns 24 in January, would fit the mold.
Chelsea’s interest in Rice goes back to when Frank Lampard was manager. They explored the possibility of signing the midfielder in the 2020 summer window. Lampard, now manager of Everton, made concerted efforts to convince Rice that his future was at Chelsea. However, there was concern from the club’s hierarchy about what it would be like to spend a fortune on a player released for nothing. It is believed that Lampard’s constant pressure for Rice angered the Chelsea board, so a deal never came to fruition.
“We are lucky to have him in England,” said Lampard. “West Ham are lucky to have him. He’s a leader and it’s clear he’s destined for great things. I’ve probably already talked about how I talked about him, but I think it’s common knowledge that I was a huge fan of his. That didn’t happen for several reasons, but we signed a lot of players in the summer. But I was a huge fan of his.”
Thomas Tuchel, Lampard’s successor, was also a great admirer of Rice.
“I rate you very highly,” he said. “He seems like a really nice guy from what everyone tells me and he comes from the Chelsea youth and proves that (his quality). That’s the most important. It looks like he plays every game.
“He’s available, he’s captain, he plays with a lot of responsibility, he’s a physical player, very strategic, a key part of his team, and he’s strong at set pieces. This is not a surprise. Everyone sees it. He’s a huge part of West Ham’s success and he’s impressive.”
Chelsea want to rebuild their midfield department and want to spend big in 2023. Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham is another target.
Jorginho is expected to leave at the end of the season, when his contract expires. Both parties are not yet close to agreeing on the terms of a contract extension. N’Golo Kante’s contract also expires in the summer of 2023, but his future remains uncertain. Graham Potter, who was appointed manager in September, is an admirer but Kante has been injured since August and there is an acceptance that he cannot play every game.
Since making his first-team debut against Burnley in 2017, Rice has been Mr. Reliable from West Ham. He was barely injured and played 182 league games, missing just 24 games. From June 2021 to June 2022, Rice played 68 games for club and country.
Rice has rejected three West Ham contract offers (Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Rice’s mentality and other attributes explain why other clubs are also keenly interested.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hailed Rice as an “exceptional player” following West Ham’s 2-1 defeat by City last season. However, the club are well stocked in their position with Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri and summer signing Kalvin Phillips, who joined Leeds United for £42m in the summer. West Ham’s assessment could also dishearten the club. Manchester City also maintain a strong interest in Bellingham. A deal for the 19-year-old is considered a higher priority than signing Rice.
Rice has been on Manchester United’s radar for several years, but his price has always been considered too high, considering there was not universal consensus among the club’s scouts.
Still, United held initial move talks last season to assess the potential cost of a transfer and it could be that the situation will be revisited as other clubs are ahead in the hunt for Bellingham. Similarly to Manchester City, Manchester United are well stocked in midfield with Fred, Scott McTominay, Christian Eriksen and summer signing Casemiro, who signed a deal worth up to £70m from Real Madrid in August.
Aside from club affairs, Rice was tipped as England’s future captain. He has won 39 caps and is a popular member of the Southgate squad.
The commercial value of rice has also skyrocketed – something its admirers must have noticed. In April, he teamed up with fashion brand Prada to appear on the cover of Circle Zero Eight magazine. He appeared in Sports Direct’s Christmas advertisement alongside childhood friend Mason Mount, Thierry Henry and Eric Cantona.
Rice is equipped to perform at the highest level whether on or off the pitch.
The next five months will be a defining moment in your career and when it comes to potential suitors, it’s a case of who decides to blink first.
(Top image: Eamonn Dalton/Getty Images)
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