Transfer Talk: Battle for Hammers star Rice coming to the boil

West Ham’s season of struggle has left their talismanic skipper Declan Rice in an awkward position.

Having shown admirable loyalty to the Hammers amid a raft of interest from other clubs last summer, the 24-year-old will surely find it tougher to resist a big-money move next time around.

Arsenal and Manchester United, the latter of whom face West Ham for a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals later this evening, are reported to be leading the chase for the England ace.

Ahead of tonight’s contest, we take a closer look at Rice’s situation.

Star attraction

Rice has undergone a meteoric rise through the ranks in East London since being released by Chelsea in 2014.

Within three years of joining, he was skippering the Hammers’ Under-23s side to a promotion as an 18-year-old and was subsequently rewarded with a first Premier League outing by Slaven Bilic in May 2017. 

The industrious midfielder has racked up 225 appearances in the famous claret and blue — 191 of which have come in the top flight — and now proudly wears the captain’s armband.

What is more, Rice’s stint at the heart of the Irons’ engine room has been one of the club’s most successful periods for some time.

Sixth and seventh-placed finishes in the league have been accompanied by some memorable continental adventures, most notably when reaching the Europa League semi-finals last season.

Adding in his 39 England caps and hugely likeable persona, Rice has unquestionably become the face of the present-day West Ham side.

Tough times

Sadly for the Hammers, things have not gone anywhere near as well this campaign.

Last Saturday's 4-0 demolition of Nottingham Forest, where Rice got on the scoresheet with a beautiful curling effort from 20 yards, represented only a sixth victory in 24 top-flight outings.

Having held hopes of another top-six tilt in August, David Moyes’ men instead find themselves embroiled in a relegation battle and tensions have been rising in recent months. 

After last month’s 2-0 defeat at Tottenham, Rice appeared to question his manager’s tactics in his post-match interview.

Cutting a frustrated figure, the Three Lions regular said: "When you play with five at the back and the three, like we set up today, maybe our strikers felt a bit isolated when we got the ball up to them — they didn’t really have enough around them, not enough support."

Those comments only saw rumours about Rice's future intensify.

Plenty to offer

Despite recent struggles, a quick look at last season’s statistics confirms Rice as one of the top tier’s finest operators.

Out of all Premier League players, he ranked within the top 10 for tackles made (80), interceptions, (63) and possessions won in the middle (153) and defensive (119) thirds of the pitch.

Interestingly, he also sat 11th for completed passes in the final third with a tally of 500, outperforming the likes of Jack Grealish (464), Bukayo Saka (455) and James Ward-Prowse (433).

Rice’s effectiveness at both ends of the pitch is a dying art in the modern game, with most midfielders tasked with either creating chances or disrupting an opposition’s build-up play.

He showed tremendous loyalty to the Hammers by not pushing for a move last summer but comments prior to the World Cup in Qatar strongly suggested this season will be his last in East London.

Rice said in December: "100% I want to play in the Champions League. 

"I’ve been playing consistently well for my club and I feel like I really want to keep pushing. I see my friends who are playing Champions League and for big trophies."

Difficult decision

Erik ten Hag supposedly wants to add a midfielder and a striker to his Manchester United squad and it is thought the Red Devils will make a more lucrative financial offer for Rice than rival suitors Arsenal.

However, Rice has made no secret of his desire to stay in London and Kieran Trippier recently gave a rousing endorsement of his England team-mate when compared with Gunners midfielder Thomas Partey.

Asked to pick between the pair having played with both, Trippier instantly said: "Declan. Declan's unbelievable. 

"I don't know if you watched the game when we played West Ham, but just his intelligence, the way he breaks up play and how he travels with it, and how powerful he is. 

"He’s unbelievable. Probably one of the best in the world at what he does."

With Mikel Arteta’s men locked in a tight title race, Champions League football looks assured at the Emirates next season.

When the window re-opens, a short hop across the capital may well prove the best move for all parties.