‘He wants to go’ - Key West Ham ace will be leaving amid Arsenal and Man Utd interest

West Ham owner David Sullivan has confirmed that Declan Rice will be leaving the club this summer. The England international is being tracked by the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United ahead of the next transfer window.

Rice, who is 24-years-old, sees his contract at the London Stadium expire in June 2024. He now has a big decision to make on where he wants to play his football next season.

West Ham won the Europa Conference League on Wednesday night after beating Serie A side Fiorentina in Prague. Winger Jarrod Bowen scored a last-gasp winner for David Moyes’ side in front of their travelling fans.

Sullivan spoke after the game and told talkSPORT: “I think it has to be [his last game]. We promised him he could go. He set his heart on going.

“You can’t ask for a man who has committed more to us this season. In due course, he has to get on and we have to get a replacement – or several replacements. It’s not something we want to happen. We offered him £200,000-a-week 18 months ago. He turned it down.

“It’s cost him £10million to stay at West Ham in that time (in lost wages). And he wants to go. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there.”

Rice will be hard to replace for West Ham but they will pick up a big fee for his services. The midfielder was on the books at Chelsea before linking up with the Hammers’ academy back in 2014.

He was a regular at various youth levels before breaking into the first-team. The Londoner has become their main man in the middle of the park and has made 245 appearances in all competitions to date, chipping in with 15 goals, and he will be sorely missed.