West Ham United legend Sir Trevor Brooking believes that the club must convince midfielder Declan Rice it is going places in order to keep hold of him.
The 20-year-old has unsurprisingly attracted the attention of the Premier League’s big boys after a stunning breakthrough campaign, and Brooking believes that progress must be evident if the Hammers are to retain the England international.
“You have the top six, then the middle six and West Ham are in that,” he told the Evening Standard. “The club should be one of those aspiring to move up again and in order to do that, we would love to keep Declan at the club because that is the nucleus moving forward.
“There is some really good quality in the squad now and if you could add to that, the team would really be knocking on the door. What we have to do is convince Declan and others that this club is going places.
“What I’m saying is that you want the club to progress sufficiently that Declan is enjoying his football, he’s in the England side and he sees it progressing. He will want to play European club football in the future but he still has a lot to learn to take him to the next stage.”
OPINION
Brooking pretty much hits the nail on the head, here. Rice is ambitious, what professional footballer isn’t, and so he will be keen for the club to show signs of progress in the coming years. If that doesn’t happen then it’s going to be very difficult for West Ham to keep hold of him moving forward. As Brooking says, there is plenty of quality in this West Ham squad, they just need to upgrade certain areas of the team. Another two full backs, a centre back, a central midfielder and a prolific striker are required if the Hammers are to really take that next step. Rice will want to see that the club share his ambitions and want to progress up the Premier League table and be playing European football regularly. Otherwise he will almost certainly be off in the next couple of years. Even if the club are progressing it’s going to be difficult to keep Rice. But at least if they match his ambition they give themselves a chance of retaining him.
