Our plan was always to keep Declan Rice at the club, proclaims David Moyes

Our plan was always to keep Declan Rice at the club, proclaims David Moyes

West Ham boss David Moyes has confessed that the Hammers have no plans to sell star Declan Rice as the young midfielder is a future West Ham captain. The 21-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea and Manchester City among others over the last few months but no move has materialized.

Over the last few years, few English players have thrived in England as much as Declan Rice has with the West Ham starā€™s transformation into a defensive midfielder attracting interest. However, while many believe Riceā€™s future lies at centre-back, his performances as a midfielder has seen the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and a few others all make their interest known. The Blues are reported the top suitors for the 21-year-old this summer despite reports of a Ā£70 million asking price.

That hasnā€™t deterred the London side so far with them making a host of signings although West Ham are in no hurry to sell as Rice has four years left on his current contract. However, despite the interest growing from Chelseaā€™s side, West Ham boss David Moyes has admitted that the clubā€™s plan is to not sell arguably their best player. Moyes further added that Rice has the potential to become a Hammers captain and maybe even go on to do something even bigger.

"We have still got a long way to go in the window, maybe somebody has the Bank of England but nobody has shown that. It was always the plan [to keep him], there was no intention to lose Declan Rice. We have had no bids and no enquiries. There is a lot of speculation but I can only tell you what I know," Moyes told reporters.

"I wouldnā€™t want to lose him anyway because he is too big a player for us, he is too important and a big part of the squad. Heā€™s been captain already, I think he is learning a lot of leadership from Mark Noble, so I hope in the future we will have an incredibly talented footballer with great leadership skills and will be the captain of West Ham."

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