OPINION
David Gold and David Sullivan are not exactly amongst the most popular owners in the Premier League, but their near-£100million spending spree in the summer has gone some way to appeasing the West Ham faithful.
Gold and Sullivan showed some real ambition in first bringing in Manuel Pellegrini and then backing the Chilean heavily in the transfer market as he made nine signings to totally reinvigorate the squad.
Their ambition is now paying off as Pellegrini begins to work his magic at the London Stadium after a really poor start, with the Hammers playing some lovely football in recent weeks.
However, there is one ongoing situation which West Ham fans will all know about, and it is one which threatens to destroy all of the club’s good work over the last few months: Declan Rice’s contract.
Despite suggestions that a deal is finally close, club insider ExWHUemployee has now rubbished those claims and reported that Rice is no closer to signing a new contract.
There is no truth in @_DeclanRice contract being close to be sorted. There has been no communication regarding the deal for over a month now despite Declan making it clear he wishes to stay amongst interest from many other clubs ⚒
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) November 19, 2018
Ex relays that Rice has made it clear he wishes to stay at the club, and yet there has still been no communication between the Hammers and their player for over a month.
Rice’s demands, previously said to be around £30,000-a-week, are not exactly prohibitive, especially considering how much quality he brings to this side.
The fact that the club have not yet made another move to sort this with the January window approaching means that this situation is now becoming extremely threatening.
Gold and Sullivan, for all their good work in the summer, are now essentially ready to press the self-destruct button at the London Stadium.
As reported by Ex, there are many top clubs interested in Rice, and while he does not really want to leave, the possibility of that happening is very real.
Should that indeed occur, then fans will never forgive the owners for losing a player who has the potential to become a club legend, and their positions will surely become untenable.
This situation needs sorting fast, or things will start to unravel extremely fast at the London Stadium.
