We all know what you’re going to say, West Ham fans. You don’t want to say goodbye to Declan Rice, and we don’t blame you. However, the young England international is a top player and was always going to have the big clubs sniffing around him before long.
With that being the case, Chelsea’s reported interest in the 21-year-old should come as no surprise (Sky Sports). What is crucial now, though, is that the Hammers make the right decisions. Selling Rice would bring chaos and fan uproar, but reinvest the money wisely and the situation would be much easier to cope with.
The midfield at West Ham is heavily packed with the players. Rice is an obvious starter, having played every Premier League minute for the club so far this season (Transfermarkt), but with Tomas Soucek and Mark Noble able to play that role, albeit not as well, at least the Irons have cover, so if Rice is to go the money can be put back into struggling areas.
For one, finding a striker who can effectively partner up with Sebastien Haller and allow Michail Antonio to return to his favoured role on the right would be much needed, as would a competent left-back and maybe even a new centre-back to slot in as cover alongside Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna.
Will we keep Declan Rice leave over the summer?
Yes
No
Thinking even further ahead, investing in a young promising goalkeeper to take the reigns from Lukasz Fabianski in a couple of years time also wouldn’t go amiss, as well as potentially finding a new midfield man who can play as either a box-to-box or a holder, and someone to replace Manuel Lanzini.
Obviously, for all of this to happen Rice would have to go for a significant fee, but if David Sullivan and David Gold can hold their nerve and bring in the sort of fee that Rice’s ability and age no doubt commands then there could be a huge squad rebuild on at the London Stadium, and one that could make or break the club depending on how it’s done.
