- Declan Rice left West Ham United for a record-breaking sale in 2023
- The Arsenal midfielder has been nominated for PFA Players’ Player of the Year
- £80 million-rated Mateus Fernandes has drawn interest from Manchester United and Arsenal
There aren’t many decisions the current West Ham United are praised for, but it can’t be argued that the record-breaking sale of former captain Declan Rice to Arsenal was well negotiated by the Hammers.
Rice’s move to North London in 2023 for £105 million shattered the £25m fee recouped for Dimitri Payet six years prior, and the midfielder’s world-class leap at Arsenal has justified the negotiations for both clubs.
Although the transfer window in England doesn’t open until June 15., there have been countless reports linking the wider West Ham squad to mega moves, which will once again test the Hammers’ hierarchy’s ability to maximise the value of their top talents.
Declan Rice nominated for PFA Players’ Player of the Year three years on from West Ham departure
As stated, three years on from his departure from East London, Rice’s rise has placed him in the undeniable top bracket among players in his position. The 27-year-old was an irreplaceable part of Arsenal’s Premier League-winning side this season, and also played an integral role in guiding the Gunners to a Champions League final.
Rice’s season achievements, which will look to culminate with another career-high moment with England at this summer’s World Cup, have seem nominated for the prestigious PFA Players’ Player of the Year. The West Ham academy graduate is joined by fellow Arsenal teammates Gabriel and goalkeeper David Raya, aswell as Premier League Player of the Year Bruno Fernandes and Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki.
Rice’s name in the six-man shortlist further underscores why West Ham were hesitant to demand a club-record fee from Arsenal in June 2023, a deal that took three separate bids before it came to fruition, which brings us to West Ham’s next great midfielder-in-the-making: Mateus Fernandes.
West Ham must hold firm with Mateus Fernandes’ £80m price target as Man Utd and Arsenal circle
West Ham have to take the same approach they used with Rice for Fernandes. Despite the club’s drop from the Premier League, Fernandes established himself as a promising midfield metronome who shone above his underwhelming team performance; the elite triumvirate of Manchester United, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain’s growing interest shows as much.
The Hammers have slapped an £80 million price tag on Fernandes, and despite only buying the player for just half that fee from Southampton last year, they must remain strong in their negotiating stance for the 21-year-old Portuguese, who made his senior national debut in March.
Fernandes, like Rice in his rookie years, was nominated for Premier League Young Player of the Year this season. The fact that he joined a shortlist including a league record-breaker, a European Championship finalist and a host of players who have been operating at the league’s top level is enough justification for West Ham to have their financial weight in gold.
