OPINION
In a season that largely failed to live up to the hype, Declan Rice was a bright and ever-burning star for the West Ham.
The youngster cemented himself as one of the most important and exciting players in Manuel Pellegrini’s side, and his stellar breakout led to highly publicised and thoroughly deserved called up to the England setup.
Understandably, that kind of reputation attracts attention.
The 20-year-old has been linked with a move to Manchester United this summer, as reported by the Independent, and if he were to go, it would be a disaster for West Ham.
Rice is a special player, and replacing him would be no walk in the park. Just look at how difficult United have found it to replace Michael Carrick as an example.
So it will come as some relief to fans to read the latest update from reliable source ExWHUemployee.
Writing on their personal account, they seemed to all but confirm that Rice will be sticking around east London.
When asked by a supporter about getting Rice’s name and number on the back of a shirt, ExWHUemployee said: “Just been told by someone in the club Rice will keep 41 for next season so go ahead and get it now!”
Just been told by someone in the club Rice will keep 41 for next season so go ahead and get it now! https://t.co/PvDs7Zl3YR
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) June 17, 2019
That is a big assertion to make. It’s one thing to make statements like that of the cuff on social media, but to go out of your way to advise somebody to spend god knows how much on permanently marking a shirt that cost upwards of £50 is quite another.
On the basis of this, it is fair to assume that Rice is going nowhere.
If he does ExWHUemployee will owe somebody a hefty apology fee.
