Declan Rice will be sold by the team this summer, according to West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan.
As has been widely reported lately, Arsenal has made the Irons captain their main target, although Rice had postponed any discussions about his future until after their Conference League victory.
To avoid distracting Rice or the team, the Gunners also intended to wait until after West Ham’s match against Fiorentina before making a bid, which is likely to be advantageous to them as talks continue in the following weeks.
Sulivan stated in a Thursday morning interview with talk SPORT that
“we promised him he could go, he set his heart on going.”
“You can’t ask for a man who has committed more to us this season. In due course, he has to get on and we have to get a replacement – or several replacements.”
When inevitably asked about his future following West Ham’s 2-1 victory,
Rice himself said,
“there’s a lot of speculation going on about my future. Obviously, there is interest from other clubs, that’s out there, but ultimately I’ve still got two years left at West Ham.”
“I love this club, I love playing for this club. There hasn’t been anything yet. My focus is playing for West Ham, enjoying tonight and seeing what happens. I’m captain of this club and absolutely love it to pieces.
“I cannot speak highly enough of this place, let’s just see what happens.”
According to reports, the Irons have placed a £120 million price tag on their captain, while Arsenal is attempting to negotiate a reduction to around £90 million.
Expect the Irons to negotiate hard for their prized possession given that he still has two years left on his contract and that Jack Grealish’s £100 million transfer is still fresh in their minds.
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