West Ham's Chairman Confirms Declan Rice is Seeking to Leave the Club

West Ham's chairman, David Sullivan, has confirmed that Declan Rice intends to leave the club this summer, and the midfielder is expected to be released in the coming weeks. According to 90min sources, West Ham anticipates many bids for their star midfielder following their victory in the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina, with a price tag of £100m on Rice's head.

Although Rice claimed after receiving the trophy that it was "not goodbye yet," Sullivan has stated that he believes the 24-year-old has played his last game for the club. "I believe it has to be [Rice's final game]," Sullivan told talkSPORT. "We promised him that he could leave. He was determined to leave. You can't ask for a man who has given more commitment to us this season.

"In due course, he has to move on, and we have to find a replacement - or maybe several replacements. It's not something we want to happen. We offered him £200,000-a-week 18 months ago, but he turned it down. It has cost him £10m in lost wages to remain with West Ham during that time, and he still wants to depart. You can't keep a player who doesn't want to be there."

Sullivan stated that West Ham has not yet received any bids for Rice, but he expects them to start flooding in now that their calendar is clear. "I believe the offers will begin to arrive today," he added. "There are three or four clubs that have expressed interest, but decent clubs do not make offers for players while we are still playing out of respect for West Ham."

According to 90min, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Manchester United are all interested in bringing Rice to the Premier League, while Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are also admirers. 

On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth and Graeme Bailey to discuss Ange Postecoglou's appointment at Spurs, Man Utd chasing Rasmus Hojlund, Harry Kane to Real Madrid, Lionel Messi & more!

If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!