West Ham United would dismiss any offer anywhere near £50million for young midfielder Declan Rice, according to Claret & Hugh.
The reliable Hammers news source claims that the Hammers would laugh in the face of any bids around the aforementioned amount, with only an extremely high offer making them consider the 20-year-old’s sale.
The Sun reported this week that Premier League giants Manchester United value Rice at £40million and are considering making a summer move for him.
However, with Rice tied down on a long-term contract signed earlier this season, the club are well placed to rebuff any attempts to snare their star man.
OPINION
This is exactly what the West Ham supporters will have wanted to hear, especially after Manuel Pellegrini’s comments on Thursday did little to dampen the speculation surrounding the England international’s future. £40-50million always seemed like a staggeringly low figure for an outstanding young talent like Rice, especially in today’s market. It seems that you need to spend near-enough £75million to get a top young player these days so it’s no surprise that the Hammers gave £50million short shrift. Hopefully Rice stays at the London Stadium for the foreseeable future, but it’s already clear that West Ham will be willing to deal if a team come in and blows them away with a gargantuan offer. It doesn’t seem as if that’s happened yet, but it likely will at some point in the future. Unfortunately it’s simply going to be incredibly difficult for West Ham to keep Rice moving forward even if he continues to be a key player for them, but there’s no doubt that they will try their best to keep him for as long as possible.
