WEST HAM will start a £110million bidding war for Declan Rice after owner David Sullivan finally confirmed their captain can leave.
The Hammers will demand a Premier League record fee — in excess of the £106m Chelsea paid Benfica for Argentine World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez.
Rice, 24, led the Irons to their first major European trophy since 1965 on Wednesday.
More than 70,000 fans lined the streets of East London to hail their heroes on their open-top bus victory parade.
Arsenal are expected to bid for England midfielder Rice in the coming days, while both Manchester clubs and Bayern Munich could soon follow.
Asked if Rice had played his last game for West Ham, Sullivan said: “It has to be. We promised him he could go. He set his heart on going.
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“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.
“It’s cost him £10m to stay at West Ham in that time [in lost wages].
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“He wants to go. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there.”
Rice emulated legendary skipper Bobby Moore by lifting a major European trophy, thanks to Jarrod Bowen’s last-gasp Europa Conference League winner to beat Fiorentina 2-1.
Yesterday, Rice posted a photo on Instagram of himself holding the trophy in his Prague hotel bed with the caption: “Good morning”.
He has a year left on his current deal and West Ham have the option to extend it until 2025.
Rice has consistently expressed his desire to play in the Champions League and compete for major honours.
On whether any bids had already been made, Sullivan told talkSPORT: “No. But I think the offers will start to come.
“There are three or four clubs who have shown interest but out of respect to West Ham, while we’re still playing, you don’t make offers for players.”
Following Wednesday’s historic win, Rice refused to confirm whether his 245th appearance for the club would be his last.
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He said: “It’s flattering to be wanted but the badge on my chest is West Ham and ultimately it’s up to the people above.”
Manager David Moyes’ future is also up in the air but he is now expected to stay on at the London Stadium to lead the search for Rice’s replacement.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
