Declan Rice is arguably West Ham United's greatest player of the modern era. After all, he was the club captain when the Hammers won the Europa Conference League. He then made a £105 million move to Arsenal.
Understandably, many West Ham fans have given Rice some stick when he has faced the Hammers in an Arsenal shirt. However, there is no doubt that Rice still loves West Ham. He looked devastated when the Hammers were relegated at the end of last season, despite being about to lift the Premier League with the Gunners.
Rice is also regularly pictured with West Ham legend Mark Noble and famous Hammers supporter James Cordon on social media. Talk of Rice one day returning to West Ham has been fueled by comments from his former academy coach, Mark Phillips. He claimed that Rice wanted to play abroad before returning to West Ham.
However, Rice appears to be about to be tied down by Arsenal. They have just agreed to a new contract with their manager, Mikel Arteta. Now, FootballTransfers has reported that "Arsenal will use the September international break to finalise details over a new long-term contract for Declan Rice."
Will Declan Rice one day return to West Ham?
Rice has been linked with Real Madrid and the Saudi Pro League recently. Therefore, it is wise for Arsenal to ward off potential suitors. He is 27 now, and his current deal expires in 2028, with an option for a further year.
If Rice signs a long-term contract at Arsenal, he would have little time left in his career to play abroad or return to West Ham. If he were to one day return to the London Stadium, he would likely be well past his best, and it would be more of a swan song to the club that developed him. It would be similar to Joe Cole's second stint at the club.
The midfielder is a model professional and has only ever drunk beer when it is mixed with lemonade, i.e a shandy. Players' careers are being extended well into their late thirties and even forties these days. However, Rice does suffer from the football calendar's congested schedule.
Last season, he played 55 times for Arsenal and was then part of the England side that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup. This has led to him dropping out of the Three Lions squad for the Nations League fixtures, as there are concerns over his workload.
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