LEICESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Declan Rice of West Ham United during the Premier League match between Leicester City and West Ham United at The King Power Stadium on October 04, 2020 in Leicester, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
According to The Sun, Declan Rice might be in line to get a pay bump with West Ham now having to look at the prospect of handing him a new contract. The midfielder was courted by Chelsea all through the summer. But West Ham’s valuation of the player made sure he stayed at the club.
Declan Rice is a 21-year-old English midfielder who plays for West Ham United. A fact about him is that he started out his youth career at Chelsea back in 2006. After getting released, he joined West Ham’s academy in 2014.
After four years in the youth team, Rice broke into the first-team during the 2017-18 season. In the following seasons, he impressed one and all and has since gone on to make more than 100 appearances for the Hammers, scoring 3 goals and providing 4 assists.
Despite playing for the Ireland national youth teams and representing the senior side three times in friendlies, Rice pledged his allegiance for England and was subsequently drafted into the Three Lions setup. So far, he has nine caps for England.
Rice is a very versatile defensive player who can play as a defensive midfielder as well as a centre-back if required.
An academy graduate for West Ham, Declan Rice has come a long way in the last 3 years. He has matured into one the league’s finest defensive midfielders.
Despite so much interest from big clubs, Rice has never let it affect his performances. He has never gone out of his way to express that he wants to leave the club. The midfielder has kept his head down and worked hard to improve his game.
Rice signed his last contract in 2018 which earns him around £60,000 per week. With other players such as Andriy Yarmolenko earning close to £100,000 per week, it puts West Ham in a spot to at least double Rice’s wages.
After all, he has been one of their best players in the last few seasons despite the doom and gloom surrounding the club. No one can say that he does not deserve a new and improved contract. West Ham would be wise to tie down their crown jewel to a new contract after fending off interest from Chelsea.
