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Who is going to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice in the summer?

West Ham captain Declan Rice will be the hot property of the 2023 summer transfer window, but who has the big bucks to splash out on the England international?

Declan Rice is one of the best defensive midfielders in world football at this current moment and would walk into the first team of every club on the planet. Even most Spurs fans would begrudgingly admit that.
Rice has been at West Ham since being turfed out of Chelsea's youth team when he was 14 years old. He joined West Ham's academy and a year later signed professional terms with the East London club.
He made his first-team debut at the end of the 2016/17 season and broke into the first team the following campaign. West Ham had spent most of the 2010s searching for a decent defensive midfielder and finally struck gold without having to pay a transfer fee.
Rice is now a regular fixture of Gareth Southgate's England squad, with many tipping him to be the next captain when Harry Kane steps off the world stage.
If truth be told Rice is too good for West Ham, he sticks out like a sore thumb in a team that looks like it should be better but isn't.
West Ham fans have known for a while Rice will eventually be snapped up; many are surprised it wasn't last summer. Nobody would begrudge him a big move to play Champions League football and become a global superstar.

The big question is who will be raiding their large piggy bank for the £120million, maybe more, to land him this summer? Planet Sport looks at the runners and riders.

Arsenal

The bookies' clear odds-on favourite, with many expecting Rice to be Mikel Arteta's major summer target. Rice would fill the defensive hole that could be left in the Arsenal side if Granit Xhaka moves on, with only a year left on his contract.

Arsenal will probably want to cash in on the Swiss 30-year-old before he potentially leaves the club on a free.
The one big fly in the ointment is would the Gunners be willing to part with north of a £100million for a midfielder?
Their record signing is Nicolas Pepe at £72million and Arsenal got their fingers badly burnt by that experience. Although Rice would not be such a gamble as the Ivorian winger, who had never played in the Premier League before he arrived at the Emirates.
Most of Arsenal's other big signings seem to be in the £40-50million camp - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£57m), Ben White (£50m) Alexandre Lacazette (£47m), Gabriel Jesus (£45m) Thomas Partey (£45m) Mesut Ozil (£42m) and Xhaka (£40.5m).
However, Arsenal need to bolster their squad for 2023/24 Champions League campaign and another crack at the Premier League title.
Rice is not a risky purchase like Pepe, he has plenty of Premier League experience, has avoided a major injury and is incredibly consistent, you can count his bad games on one hand.
On a personal level, the abuse dished out to Rice if he returned to the London Stadium in an Arsenal shirt would be minimal. A Spurs shirt, however, would be a different kettle of fish…but more on that later.
So Arsenal could break the bank for Rice, but is a reported figure of £90million going to be enough?

Chelsea

Probably still kicking themselves they let the fresh-faced Rice leave when he was teenager. His best mate Mason Mount survived the Chelsea youth-team cull and stayed on to make his name in the first team. Could they be reunited?
Chelsea
The big plus in favour of a move to Chelsea is home and family.

Rice was born and raised in Kingston-upon-Thames, in south west London less than 10 miles from Stamford Bridge. He lives in Reigate in Surrey, which is a short 14-mile hop around the M25 to Chelsea's training ground.

The midfielder's long-term partner Lauren Fryer gave birth to the couple's first son, Jude, in August 2022 and that will be a big driving force in keeping Rice in the capital.
It has been reported he is not too keen on uprooting his family for a move north.
The big downside is Chelsea won't be in the Champions League next season or making any European trips, unless they go on mid-season warm weather training.

West Ham have already stated that they would accept a £120m bid from a Champions League club…oh bad luck Chelsea.

The only thing likely to change this is if Todd Boehly fires up his latest Football Manager save and bids a silly amount of cash. £200m should do it.

Manchester United

Once the clear favourites to snap up Rice, as a replacement for Scott McTominay. Then Casemiro arrived and Manchester United's interest in the West Ham star started to wane.
At 31, Casemiro has a good couple of seasons left in him, but it's slightly short-sighted of the Old Trafford club to rule themselves totally out of the race for the 24-year-old Rice, who could easily have a team built around him.
Maybe Rice is the signing a new owner would use to make a huge splash at the club.

Manchester City

The question here is why do Manchester City need a player like Rice?
They already had a midfield packed with quality players like Rodri and have an England international in Kalvin Phillips sitting on the bench. Would that happen to Rice?

Then again Pep Guardiola keeps playing centre-backs like in a hybrid midfield role - is this the Spaniard signalling to the owners he needs another player to fill that position?

City have the deep pockets to pay silly money for Rice, and West Ham might be tempted to a cash plus Phillips swap deal.

Newcastle

Newcastle are yet to make the huge 'kaboom' signing everyone has been expecting them to make when their new Saudi owners took.
"Howay Sullivan pet, name wor price for that canny Rice laddie?"
"That's gonna cost you a lot of bangers and mash…200 million bags for you though me ole' china"
Is how I'd imagine the conversation between Newcastle and West Ham to go, using lazy stereotypes.

The problem with Newcastle is it's really, really far away from Rice's family. Londoners are always shocked by how far away things in the UK actually are.

Even though the odds are no bigger than the two Manchester clubs, a move to Newcastle seems more unlikely.

Liverpool

We have to put Liverpool in here as they have to be linked with big players or Reds fans get upset.
Jude Bellingham appeared to be their next big signing after the World Cup, but now Real Madrid could be his next destination.
Does that mean Rice moves into view as their next stalwart centre midfielder.
Liverpool's current midfield is a mix of ageing crocks and young upcoming talent, maybe Rice is the man to knit them all together?

Tottenham

This is the 'ruin your legacy at West Ham' move for Rice.

Scott Parker thought he might have got away with it but didn't. He is still booed by pockets of fans.

There's one thing West Ham fans love, and that is a long rage-fuelled grudge - just ask Paul Ince and Frank Lampard.

Real Madrid

Like Spurs this is the longshot. Real Madrid haven't shown much interest and are probably focused on trying to lure Kylian Mbappe to the Bernabeu instead.

But as it's Real, you can never rule them out of pulling a rabbit out of the hat.
Not sure how Rice did in his geography GCSE, but I've heard Madrid is even further away than Newcastle.

Staying at West Ham

Hear me out.
Everyone is expecting Rice to waltz off in the summer, it's a done deal surely.
But what if David Sullivan digs his heels in, and turns down offers of below £120million. He is well within his right, Rice still has a year to run on his contract and West Ham have the option to extend it by a year.

Rice also strikes me as an honourable man, and not likely to start on a similar route as the Harry Kane/Levy/Man City fracas.

He's a Rolls Royce player currently parked in an East End garage, but he is loved and his engine gets better and better by the day.
Why would he want to leave!!!
As the current West Ham song goes...
'One more year Declan Rice I pray, playing football the West Ham way'

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