OFFICIAL statement released – Chelsea all clear to complete £100M signing
West Ham chairman David Sullivan has confirmed captain Declan Rice will be sold this summer, which has given CHELSEA , Man United and Arsenal a massive boost.
Chelsea had one of their worst seasons in recent memory and finished outside the Champions League places – and outside of the top ten – they were awful.
The England midfielder became only the third Hammers skipper to lift a trophy, after victory over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League.
He is a player that CHELSEA and Arsenal are really interested in acquiring – but there has also been claims that Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are also interested in taking him away from the Premier League.
Now – Sullivan admitted a gentleman’s agreement means they will allow a player who still has two years remaining on his contract to leave.
Asked whether lifting the trophy in Prague was Rice’s last action as a West Ham player, Sullivan told talkSPORT: “I think it has to be. We promised him he could go.
“He set his heart on going and in due course he has to get on and we have to get a replacement.
“It is not something we wanted to happen. We offered him £200,000 a week 18 months ago and he turned it down. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there.
“I think the offers will start to come today. Three or four clubs have shown interest but out of respect to West Ham, while we’re still playing, you don’t make offers for players.”