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Why West Ham’s most important January target should be Declan Rice

By Scott Johnson

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 24: Sergio Aguero of Manchester City runs with the ball past Declan Rice of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester City at London Stadium on November 24, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 24: Sergio Aguero of Manchester City runs with the ball past Declan Rice of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Manchester City at London Stadium on November 24, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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West Ham fans are preparing their wish list for the January transfer window. But extending young Declan Rice’s contract would be the best signing the Hammers can make.

West Ham are in form and looking up the table. There are also big parts of the team that could do with investment to support our progress up the league. But currently Declan Rice is leaving the club at the end of the season for free, and that would be absolutely abhorrent. The club needs to make signing him a priority before any work in January.

My Dad isn’t the most ardent fan, in that he can’t go to matches often and doesn’t usually care too much about what goes on behind the scenes in a match. However he managed to get to the last two games and, despite other attacking players catching the eye of most, simply stated that Rice is a player we need to keep. His words that worried me were “He’s too good for us. If we keep him very long I’d be amazed.”

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This is a 19 year old defensive midfielder that our owners are worrying about giving a first team contract. A player that quite simply has to be one of the first names on the teamsheet every game, even with some of our attacking players in great form. The key facts here should be that he is an important first team player. Not that he is 19.

If you look around the Premier League I worry that there are a lot of big sides that would be interested in bringing him in. Arsenal, Chelsea, City and maybe Liverpool are unlikely to need a defensive midfielder in the near future. However Spurs (yes Rice is better than Winks and Dier, just get over it) and United would definitely be improved by the signing of Rice. Not to mention other European or Premier League sides that would be willing to spend out on a contract for a free, quality defensive midfielder.

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If we could tie Rice down to a long contract with a decent wage I would be happy if we didn’t sign anyone over January. We need a left back and more cover at right back, but to lose Rice for the long term is a bigger issue that must be addressed. Keeping him cements our ambition to improve, and means that if a big team does want him in the future they have to pay his worth, not get him for free.