Ian McGarry has revealed that he has been told that West Ham would ‘happily take the money’ for Declan Rice in the January transfer window.
Amid interest from Chelsea in the England midfielder, the Hammers have so far stood firm, setting out an asking price of £80m in order to perturb their London rivals.
However, speaking on The Transfer Window podcast, McGarry claimed the board at the London Stadium have softened their stance on Rice as they prepare for renewed interest in the 21-year-old midfielder in January. The journalist said:
The word I got from the agent who has been mandated to sell players out of Stamford Bridge when asking them about Chelsea’s chances of recruiting Declan Rice, was, ‘I think the owners of West Ham would happily take the money for Rice if they can get the right price for him in this window’.
Rice is a crucial part of David Moyes’ team – captaining the side ahead of Mark Noble – as well as playing every minute in the Premier League this season.
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Although this hasn’t come from the horse’s mouth and could well be a ploy from Chelsea officials to further rustle West Ham’s feathers over the prospect of hanging onto their prized possession, it certainly seems that the Irons face another fight to keep their man.
Rice has been among West Ham’s most impressive performers this season and is going from strength to strength for both club and country.
His average Sofascore match rating this season is 6.99 and he has averaged 2.3 interceptions per game – placing him sixth in the Premier League for that metric.
