Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy has warned West Ham United that they will lose Declan Rice to a top club if they do not offer him an improved deal.
Murphy, who is a familiar face on the BBC, admitted that he was astonished that the Hammers had not yet offered the 19-year-old new terms on his current contract, and issued a stark warning to Manuel Pellegrini that he should be wary of top clubs watching him seeming as he has only a year left to run on his deal.
He also raved about the 6ft 1in [Transfermarkt] ace, labelling him as “accomplished”, but added that he should be rewarded more for his run in the first team and coming up against players from quality opposition.
“He has all the attributes to play for England, no doubt about that. He’ll have a long career in the Premier League. The only thing with Declan is that – like with any young player first and foremost, you don’t want to go and build them up too much for them to fall,” he told talkSPORT.
“He’s at a good club where he is playing every week, and I’m amazed that they haven’t got him sorted contractually. He’s only got next year left, and he’s on a young man’s contract, playing in the Premier League and dealing with the likes of Eden Hazard and playing like he did against Everton.
“This is typical of lots of clubs, who forget that to reward the young lads when they’re doing really well. I don’t mean give them stupid money, you’ve got to earn your corn.
“I think he’s on a very low contract playing in the Premier League, dealing with top players and looking very accomplished. Do West Ham think that the top clubs aren’t watching him now?”
OPINION
It is surprising that West Ham have not offered Rice an improved contract yet. He is only on £1,000-a-week [Spotrac] at the moment, and that does not seem anywhere near the figure that he should be rewarded with after his recent displays. For such a young player, he plays with a maturity far beyond his years, and it is not often that you will get players like that. He has not struggled dealing with the top names in the league, and as Murphy pointed out, he is very “accomplished.” Like the pundit said, Rice does not need to be on silly money at West Ham, but they must offer him an improved deal soon – otherwise the bigger clubs are going to come sniffing when his contract expires. This is the least likely scenario that the Irons want to experience, so they need to get his contract sorted soon. Nevertheless, he has been fantastic so far – and he can only get better and better this season.
