---
title: "West Ham: McAvennie makes Declan Rice claim"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/west-ham-hammers-frank-mcavennie-declan-rice-the-london-stadium-chelsea/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "jonathan radcliffe"
section: "Features"
published: "2021-10-05T11:05:14Z"
modified: "2021-10-05T11:05:14Z"
---

# West Ham: McAvennie makes Declan Rice claim

**According to former West Ham player Frank McAvennie, GSB are prepared to pay big money to keep Declan Rice at the club.**

### **The Lowdown: Rice future uncertain**

Rice has become one of West Ham’s most important players and has also emerged as a key performer for Gareth Southgate’s England side, for whom he has 26 caps.

\[freshpress-quiz id=”375613″\]

That has led to interest in his services from around the Premier League, with [Chelsea](https://www.givemesport.com/1723119-chelsea-transfer-news-big-update-on-blues-plans-for-declan-rice) and Manchester United ([Manchester Evening News](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/man-united-transfer-declan-rice-21510545#:~:text=Manchester%20United%20have%20earmarked%20Declan,%2C%2022%2C%20from%20West%20Ham.)) particularly in pursuit, and the 22-year-old has also turned down offers from West Ham to extend his stay at the club ([The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/jul/01/declan-rice-rejects-west-ham-contract-offers-chelsea-manchester-united-city-champions-league)).

### **The Latest: McAvennie makes GSB claim**

[Speaking to West Ham Zone](https://www.westhamzone.com/exclusives/frank-mcavennie-gsb-prepared-to-pay-big-money-to-keep-declan-rice-at-west-ham/), McAvennie believes GSB will offer as much as possible to keep him at the London outfit. He said:

> *“Listen, from what I’m hearing the club want to keep him and they’re willing to pay big bucks.*
>
> *“Now, I don’t know if he’s wanting to go somewhere. \[But\] I think this team, this squad of players, could be challenging for the Champions League for the next two or three years. I think they’ve got a decent squad, keeping everyone fit. They’ll buy more players in.*
>
> *“From what I’m hearing, the owners are willing to give Declan pretty much on a par with everyone else in England, so that’s a good thing.*
>
> *“But we’ve got him for this year, just accept it and enjoy him. If he moves on next year, then so be it. He’s a better player than Phillips, I think.*

### **The Lowdown: Think it over…**

It is understandable West Ham would not want to lose Rice. Across the last three full campaigns, he has missed just 10 Premier League matches ([Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/declan-rice/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/357662)), helping the Hammers reach the Europa League last term. Losing him would leave a gap in David Moyes’ midfield.

\[freshpress-poll id=”375156″\]

However, his refusal to sign a contract extension suggests he sees his future elsewhere. As it stands, he has [three years left on his deal with the option of an extra 12 months](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/declan-rice/profil/spieler/357662) – he will never be as valuable in terms of a transfer fee as right now, you would expect.

Do West Ham want to keep a player at the club who wants to leave and entice him only with a bigger pay packet? With a market value of £63m ([Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/declan-rice/marktwertverlauf/spieler/357662)), they could get a huge transfer fee for him and replace him with real quality, too. It remains to be seen how the situation develops.

***In other news, [West Ham fans were unhappy with this David Moyes decision against Brentford.](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/west-ham-news/west-ham-hammers-david-moyes-brentford-london-stadium/)***