---
title: "Declan Rice admits he is ‘thinking about’ Champions League"
canonical: "https://readwestham.com/2021/02/22/declan-rice-west-ham-champions-league-ambitions/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Dan Clubbe"
section: "West Ham News"
published: "2021-02-22T13:00:00Z"
modified: "2021-02-22T13:00:00Z"
---

# Declan Rice admits he is ‘thinking about’ Champions League

[West Ham](https://readwestham.com/2021/02/22/west-ham-among-frontrunners-for-goncalo-guedes/)‘s inspirational talisman [Declan Rice](https://readwestham.com/2021/02/19/declan-rices-loungewear-could-hint-at-west-ham-loyalty/) has admitted that he has allowed himself to consider the possibility of playing Champions League football next season.

The Hammers [went fourth](https://www.premierleague.com/tables) after their London derby success over Tottenham on Sunday and Rice, who has been [ever-present in the Premier League](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/declan-rice/leistungsdaten/spieler/357662) this term, told [talkSPORT Breakfast (Monday 9:45am)](https://talksport.com/radio/listen-again/1613973600/1613986200/) that he has European ambitions.

He said: “I’d be wrong to sit here and say that’s not something I’m thinking about \[Champions League\]. I want to be in the places, it’s where this club deserves to be, it’s a massive club and we’ve got the quality, that’s where we need to be using. The next four games will define that.”

West Ham manager David Moyes has been [more reserved over his team’s top four chances](https://talksport.com/football/837847/west-ham-top-four-premier-league-moyes-west-ham-tottenham/), suggesting that the quality of the teams vying for a Champions League  spot could prove too strong.

Rice has [been phenomenal](https://www.sofascore.com/player/declan-rice/856714) at the heart of Moyes’ midfield and he highlighted the [togetherness](https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2021/january/31-january/michail-antonio-team-spirit-celebrations-and-virtual-reality) of the squad, epitomised by their [latest whole-hearted display](https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-reactions-tomas-soucek-suffers-nasty-head-injury-smiles-and-carries-on-20210221). Alongside Tomas Soucek, the [England ace](https://talksport.com/football/791479/declan-rice-england-record-goal-iceland-nations-league/) has carried the fight for the Irons and, between the pair, they have [barely missed a single minute](https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/29/Show/England-West-Ham) of this wonderful league campaign.

### READ WEST HAM VERDICT

As each game goes by and the Hammers edge closer towards finishing he season in a European spot, it’s becoming increasingly difficult not to dream.

However, Rice is right to pinpoint the [upcoming futures as potentially season-defining](https://www.skysports.com/west-ham-united-fixtures), with a tricky schedule which could ultimately make or break their Champions League qualification hopes at least.

Regardless of where West Ham end up this season, there has been an [exponential improvement on last term](https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2020/december/01-december/five-reasons-celebrate-our-start-season) and the signs are promising for what this group can achieve.