West Ham have put contract talks with midfielder Declan Rice on hold until the end of the season, according to the Evening Standard.
The newspaper report that the Hammers are planning no further talks with the 19-year-old and his representatives after they rejected an offer worth £15,000-a-week with up to £25,000-a-week in bonuses.
The Standard claim that the club have an option to extend the midfielder’s £3,000-a-week contract, which runs until 2020, by a further year.
A club source is quoted as saying: “We do not plan to do any more at this stage unless the agents come back to us in the meantime.”
OPINION
When the club tabled their latest offer several weeks ago, it was stated among those in-the-know that this would be their final offer until the end of the season. Many seemed to doubt that, but the club look to have stuck to their guns on that claim. It looks like contract talks have now been shelved, and both parties will now just have to get on with the season before returning to the matter in the summer. Rice, to his credit, has not looked to be affected at all by these goings-on behind the scenes, with the young midfielder putting in stellar performances throughout the season so far. He was once again influential for the Hammers as they secured a 3-1 win over Cardiff City on Wednesday, and is now one of the first names on the team sheet for Manuel Pellegrini. As long as he continues to knuckle down then this should not be a problem for the club, who are no doubt taking a risk with their unflinching stance on his contract.
