WEST HAM should DOUBLE Declan Rice’s wages in order to keep him at the club, according to Hammers legend Tony Cottee.
The talented midfielder has been one of the Irons’ best players this season and his form has attracted some of the Premier League’s biggest sides.
West Ham should double Declan Rice’s wages in order to keep him at the club, according to Tony Cottee
Cottee thinks his old club should build their team around the England ace and pay him accordingly
Manchester United and Chelsea have been most heavily linked although Hammers boss David Moyes recently joked he’d take Blues whizkid Billy Gilmour in return if Rice’s old club came knocking.
But Cottee – who scored 146 goals for the Irons during two spells between 1982 and 1996 – told the We Are West Ham podcast his old side should pay up in order to hold on to their £70million rated star.
When asked about Rice’s future, Cottee said: “There’s only two ways to keep Declan at our football club.
“That is to win a cup or to play in Europe. They are the only two ways to keep a young talented player like Declan at the club for the next two or three years.
“The problem is, your career goes so quickly and Dec needs to see the club making progress, he doesn’t want to be fighting a relegation battle every year.
“West Ham need to have a good cup run and be in the top ten.
“And the one other thing the club can do at this moment in time to protect Declan and to protect the club is to give him a new contract.”
Rice signed a new deal worth around £30,000-a-week in December 2018 – a significant hike from the youth team wage he was on before.
Since then the ex-Chelsea man has broken into the England setup and emerged as one of West Ham’s most important players and Cottee thinks he should be rewarded again.
He added: “I don’t know the figures, I know he was on a crazy amount like £3k-a-week or something.
“And they probably gave him £30-40k-a-week which for me or for everyone who loves football is an unbelievable amount of money to have.
“But the point is if he was at Man Utd or Man City or Chelsea, he’d be on at least £100k-a-week so what the club can do is at least double his wages.
“People will say you can’t do that because he’s a 21-year-old.
“No, he’s an England international and if you give him a four or five year contract on that sort of money you protect the value and the asset of the player.
“So then, he’ll be worth 70 or £80m because teams have got to get him out of his contract.”
Rice has featured 30 times for the Hammers this season and has played the full 90 minutes on each occasion.
And while Cottee conceded the East Londoners might have to wave goodbye to their prize asset one day, he is clear about what the club’s hierarchy should do in the short term.
He added: “For me, first thing is first, give Declan a new contract and get him tied down.
“He might sign a five-year-deal and leave in a year anyway but if he does, at least we will get the maximum amount of money for him.
“West Ham need to build a team around Declan Rice, he’s a wonderful young player.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
