West Ham Star The Reason Behind Lampard Sacking

West Ham will be breathing a sigh of relief over the news that Frank Lampard has been sacked by London rivals Chelsea. The former Hammer and Blues legend was a big admirer of Declan Rice and was desperate to sign him for Chelsea.

After resisting interest during last summer, West Ham must have thought it was only a matter of time until Lampard came in with a bid. Any offer that would have been deemed acceptable would have been upwards of £80 million and would have been hard to reject.

Hammers fans will now sleep easy knowing that at least one big side won’t be coming for Rice anytime soon. It has been reported by the Athletic that Lampard’s continued pursuit of the West Ham midfielder played a role in the manager’s sacking.

Chelsea believed that it would be an “embarrassment” to buy back a player that had been previously rejected by the club. It was told to the athletic in December that this could be detrimental to Lampard’s position at the club.

Declan Rice has become the star of West Ham’s team and is already established himself in the England team.

"“He needs to stop pushing for Rice or he’ll lose his job.The hierarchy are very wary about the potential embarrassment of buying back an academy reject at huge expense.” The Athletic on Lampard’s chase of Declan Rice"

The Chelsea board may have been extra resistant to splash the cash on the Hammer’s star after an expensive summer. Lampard was entrusted with a war-chest and spent over £200 million on various players, few of which have made the desired impact.

Players like Timo Werner and Kai Havertz have struggled to adapt to the Premier League so far as Chelsea find themselves in 9th place in the Premier League. West Ham, on the other hand, could climb into the top four if they beat Crystal Palace tomorrow night.

David Moyes has transformed the club since his return last year. The Scottish manager has continued to promote Rice’s position in the team, making him the captain when Mark Noble is not on the pitch.

There will still be interest from other clubs in Rice, something that is to be expected when a club has a player with such talent. The positive is that the Englishman’s boyhood club will no longer be in the running for his signature.