Following much response from a statement made online surrounding the future of Declan Rice at West Ham, ExWHUEmployee has provided an update on the situation at present.

On Sunday, a report made by others online circulated stating that West Ham would listen to offers for our captain Declan Rice this summer – and this was put to Ex on Twitter to clarify if true, for which Ex responded ‘Unfortunately yes’.

This was then picked up by many outlets on social media since with the news spreading fast, however Ex wanted to provide clarity on what was meant and also the state of play.

“My comment, although correct, wasn’t meant to cause so much hysteria,” stated Ex. “I basically just repeated what I have been saying for a long time and I felt the situation was pretty obvious.

“Its well known that an offer has been made to Declan and at this stage this hasn’t been agreed or signed. So the fact is, he has 2 years left on his current deal come this summer – meaning the club will need to act as his value will deteriorate if the length of contract depletes by say a year or another 18 months.

“Declan is a world class player who West Ham value highly, however if he doesn’t sign a new contract the reality is his value depreciates each window.

“He is an ambitious player and rightly so. Money isn’t a driver for him so the situation is what it is. Declan loves this club but we need to be honest in that we will struggle to match the ambitions of a player who wants to win titles.”

Rice is of course currently with the England squad in Qatar and will no doubt be thrilled following his excellent display in the 6-2 hammering of Iran in our nations opening Group B fixture.

Ex also stated that the current speculation surrounding his future will have zero affect on the ever-professional defensive midfield star.

“He will be fully focused on England and all of this will not affect him whatsoever. We are as West Ham fans immensely proud to see Dec represent England at the World Cup, and would love nothing more than to see him bring that trophy home!”