Declan Rice appears to have dropped a bizarre, yet subtle hint that re-affirms his loyalty to West Ham.
Insider source Claret & Hugh drew attention to what would typically be an innocuous background feature in any image – but Rice’s slippers may reveal more than one might ordinarily think.
The 22-year-old midfield enforcer recently posted a picture of him greeting his pet dog in his home, with a pair of West Ham-themed slippers enriched in a shade best described as ‘Hammers Claret’ visible.
Whilst DIY stores have yet to catch onto such a glorious hue, Rice’s choice of lazy morning attire certainly has.
Claret & Hugh notes that the £49.5 million-valued player was born in Kingston, Surrey with his long-term partner coming from Chessington in Surrey.
The couple still live in the London periphery and have not strayed from their Surrey home. Rice commutes to training and remains settled, broadly speaking, in his boyhood area.
Rice refuses to move closer to east London.
It is also noted that Rice’s family are diehard Chelsea fans, but have since given up their Chelsea season tickets in order to follow Rice’s exploits with the Irons.
The source then speculates that Rice’s settled status and lifestyle means he will be in no rush to disrupt his present lifestyle and played down implied interest from Manchester United, claiming ‘suggestions that Rice and his partner would give up their Surrey life for the North of England is unlikely’.
That contrasts directly with comments such as those of Rio Ferdinand, in which a Rice exit was described as ‘inevitable’.
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Admittedly, claiming ‘you can tell a lot about a man by his slippers’ is wilful extrapolation but Rice’s apparent happiness and settled feelings in Surrey could be a surprise curveball against any suitors for the Hammers starlet.
Deliberately choosing Hammers footwear in a domestic setting, away from the eyes of the public, does at least suggest he is truly enamoured and loyal to the club at present.
