West Ham United have a battle on their hands to keep hold of starlet Declan Rice after they only offered him a small pay rise during talks over a new deal, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper report that the Hammers have offered Rice a new contract worth £8,000-a-week, with his current deal seeing him rake in just £3,000-a-week.
The Mail claim that Rice has been left disappointed by the derisory offer, which is far below the salary level of new signing Ryan Fredericks, who has no Premier League experience.
It is said that this development would put several Premier League sides on red alert, with Rice also recently switching agents.
Rice was a prize asset for West Ham this season after breaking through into the first-team, turning out 31 times in all competitions.
OPINION
No one really saw this coming, and West Ham must move quickly to prevent a small disaster occurring here. Rice has been one of the club’s best performers over the past season, and the club must do all they can to keep hold of him. Losing a young academy graduate to another Premier League side because of a pay dispute would be right up there with the worst things the West Ham board could manage, and fans would be unforgiving if that actually happens. Looking at the figures, it is no wonder that Rice has been left unimpressed by the offer, which would see him earn significantly less than new arrival Fredericks. The former Fulham flyer is thought to be on around £50,000-a-week, and while Rice probably does not expect that much due to his young age, an offer of around £25,000-a-week would probably be sufficient. In Premier League terms those are low wages, and it would be criminal for the club to undersell Rice after the season he has just had.
