David Sullivan confirms major West Ham summer exit

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has confirmed that Declan Rice has his heart set on leaving this summer, something the club have agreed on themselves.

Rice has been an influential member of the West Ham first-team squad for six seasons now having risen to the top at a rapid rate of Notts and even took over the captaincy role following Mark Noble’s retirement last summer.

In his first full season as West Ham captain, Rice has managed to do what only two players had managed before him and that’s to lift a piece of European silverware with Jarrod Bowen’s late winner against Fiorentina probing to be the difference.

There’s been a lot of rumours and speculation surrounding Rice’s future, with his manager David Moyes previously claiming he was worth £150 million, however, with his contract running down that fee looks incredibly optimistic.

However, given the calibre of clubs that are reportedly interested in Rice including Bayern Munich and Arsenal, it isn’t unreasonable for the Hammers to be looking for a transfer fee around the £80-90 million mark.

Sullivan spoke to TalkSPORT this morning after watching his side lift the Europa Conference League trophy and revealed all about Rice’s future.

Has Jarrod Bowen just won it for #WHUFC!? 😱⚒️#UECLfinal pic.twitter.com/Vd5cbZsx7I

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) June 7, 2023

He said: “We promised him he could go. He set his heart on going. You can’t ask for a man who has committed more to us this season.

“In due course, he has to get on and we have to get a replacement – or several replacements.

“It’s not something we want to happen. We offered him £ 200,000 a week 18 months ago. He turned it down.”

West Ham will demand a high fee for Ruce

It’s clear that this is the best time for West Ham to cash in on one of their best players to ever pull on the famous claret and blue shirt, and for Rice to move on from a club that’s given him everything as a player and has returned those favours by delivering silverware.

While Sullivan is clearly open and willing to sell Rice this summer, he won’t just simply roll over and allow him to walk on the cheap, there will likely be hard-fought negotiations and a type of bidding war between some of Europe’s top clubs.