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Declan Rice told to consider turning down Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool to move elsewhere
Declan Rice rejected a contract extension from West Ham earlier this year.
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Manchester United hero Paul Ince has told West Ham star Declan Rice that he must consider snubbing a summer switch to one of the ‘Big Six’ in favour of a move further abroad. The midfielder reportedly refused to pen a new deal with the Hammers earlier this year, leaving the door open for a potential exit at the end of the season.
Rice has been linked with a move away from West Ham for several years, with Chelsea one of the leading candidates to secure his signature as they look to find a long-term replacement for N’Golo Kante. Liverpool and Manchester United have also emerged as interested parties.
However, if Rice does decide to push for an exit from West Ham, Ince believes that the midfielder should also consider a move away from England. The former Wolves star left United for Inter Milan in 1995 and spent two years in Italy, and he feels Rice could benefit from a similar move.
Ince told Lord Ping: “Declan Rice shouldn’t rule out a move abroad - West Ham fans need to accept he wants to better himself. It's a tough one for Declan Rice because he wants to play in the Champions League and someone of his calibre doesn't want to be struggling at the bottom of the Premier League.
“Everyone has aspirations to play at the top, I was at West Ham as a kid, I wanted to play at the top and I ended up at Manchester United. Ideally, West Ham fans want to see him at the club for the rest of his career but realistically they have to understand he wants to better himself and it's just a case of when that will happen.
“Everyone is talking about Man City but they've got Kalvin Phillips, Liverpool are a possible choice but he could even go abroad - he's that good.”
Rice was previously expected to fetch a fee of over £100million, with manager David Moyes being particularly vocal about that, though reports have speculated that clubs could be tempted to test the resolve of West Ham with lower bids both in January and the summer.
The Hammers could feel that they are in a strong position to demand a significant fee for their sought-after star following the past few weeks, though, after impressing for England at the Qatar World Cup alongside Jude Bellingham – who is also being targeted by other title-contending Premier League sides.