I don’t think there’s any disagreement among fans about who has been West Ham’s best player so far this season. But youngster Declan Rice is still waiting for a new contract.
It seems like West Ham are in the news for all the wrong reason most weeks. And most of them are of our own creation. Now it seems the board are still refusing to offer Declan Rice a contract commensurate with his first team status. A player’s age shouldn’t have an effect on his wage if he’s in the first team every game.
By offering a wage based on the fact hes’s a ‘Youth’ player and not his first team appearances the board are really running the risk of losing an extremely talented player. Pundits are noting his improvement and against Leicester many were pointing out that he was outclassing fellow youth prospect James Maddison in the midfield. Rice is a sensible player, but the board will have to admit their error soon. He’s loyal, but not stupid.
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If you look around the Premier League a defensive midfield player who can both hold the shape of the team and distribute the ball well is a key asset. To be honest, on this seasons performances a team like Man United could benefit from a player like Rice. When teams like that start coming in, there won’t be any delay there in offering first team wages.
Not keeping Rice in the side will have two impacts. Firstly our side will look a lot lot worse. There’s no-one that will hold the shape as well as him, certainly not for the length of time Rice would be able to given his age. Secondly, we could really see the fans, who have calmed their anger towards the board, lose any semblance of respect for the hierarchy. This would be disastrous for the club’s top levels, and it would be as though the 100m summer never happened.
All decisions have consequences, and this one has two big potential impacts. This is the wrong youth player to be taking a stance over. When a youngster who is only getting a few minutes here and there demands mega bucks, then yes shut up shop. But when the 19 year old is shielding your defence and holding the side’s shape? You’ve kind of got no leg to stand on. The board must swallow their pride, and up the offer to our HOTY-elect.