West Ham first-team coach Stuart Pearce has responded to reports claiming midfielder ace Declan Rice has rejected two new deals at the London Stadium.
The news broke on Thursday that the 22-year-old has turned down new terms on two occasions, despite already holding a contract until 2024 in east London.
According to ExWHUemployee on Twitter, the England star is seemingly holding out for a better offer after initial salaries came short of other squad members.
Working as a pundit on talkSPORT, Pearce opened up about the future and the options available to Rice.
He’s an absolute dream to work with, always got a smile on his face – a little bit daft – but no brilliant to work with, great kid. He wants to get better at his job and listen when Mark Noble’s not in the team, he captains the team as well at a very young age which is a great credit to him. Listen he’s got everything in front of him I think and the most important thing is he’s got improvement as well. We think there’s more and more development in him and the beauty of Dec is we feel he’s got the ability to improve as well.
Pearce went on to compare the 21-cap Englishman’s situation to his own playing career, before claiming Rice ‘loves driving West Ham forward’ and hailing the role played in getting the Irons into Europe.
Despite still being relatively young, Rice has established himself as a senior player in David Moyes’ side, moving onto 145 senior appearances during the Scotsman’s reign.
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Albeit the club remains adamant their prized asset is not for sale, any doubts on the players’ behalf would certainly be of concern to Hammers.
Given the Europa League qualification, it seems unlikely the star would force anything this summer, however it’s important the side continue to succeed to meet ambitions.
Perhaps a few key incomings would further endear Rice to the project at the London Stadium.
