West Ham transfer news

GARY NEVILLE believes Declan Rice needs to move on and “play at a different club”.But the Manchester United legend suggested Rice’s position as a holding midfielder means he is worth nowhere near the Hammers’ £100million asking price.
Declan Rice has been linked with a summer move away from West HamCredit: Alamy
Gary Neville has urged Rice to join a new clubCredit: Rex
West Ham boss David Moyes previously claimed it will cost a British transfer record for Rice to leave the club.
Roy Keane recently suggested he hasn’t “kicked on” enough this season to justify such an enormous price tag.
The likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea have all been linked with a big summer move for the 24-year-old.
But United legend Neville admitted he agrees with former Old Trafford team-mate Keane’s view that Rice can still improve as a midfielder.
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He told Sky Sports: “I heard what Roy said and I do agree with him.”
He went on to add: “I personally feel at this moment in time that Declan does need to go and work under a different set up.
“He needs to drive forward in his career, he needs to go and play at a different club.”
Neville claimed Rice needs to move on from West Ham, but he wouldn’t spend over £100m on the midfielder if he were Manchester United.
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The Old Trafford icon suggested there is a “cap” on what teams should be willing to pay for a holding midfield player.
Neville continued: “For me, I wouldn’t be spending £110-120million on Declan Rice if I was Manchester United this summer.
“I would spend £50 [or] £60million on Declan Rice but I wouldn’t be spending £100 or £120million which is what is being reported.
“Because I feel in that position, I still feel like he’s a lot of growth.”
Neville continued: “I think a holding midfield player, a player who sort of connects the back to the front and sort of links play, to me that feels like a cap of about £50-60million, £65million.
“It doesn’t feel like a £100m position.”
The TV pundit admitted Rice still has a long way to go to reach the levels of United ace Casemiro and Manchester City star Rodri – masters of the holding position.
Neville concluded: “I think he’s a brilliant lad.
“But I agree with some of Roy’s points that I think there’s a lot of growth and lot to do for Declan to do to get up to the levels of Casemiro [and] Rodri, players are playing at the tops of their games in those positions.” More

NO team is ever “too good” to go down and West Ham are sleepwalking towards relegation.The Hammers have been faltering domestically for over a year now – but their form has been masked by an impressive run in Europe last season, which saw David Moyes’ men reach the Europa League semi-finals.
West Ham are in the relegation zone after 23 games playedCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
The Hammers turned in a lifeless performance on Sunday away at rivals TottenhamCredit: Getty
David Moyes has matched Avram Grant’s points total from the relegation season of 2010-11 after 23 games
A whopping £160million was spent in the summer to help West Ham and Moyes reinvent themselves, with the Scotsman admitting: “I have to change the way West Ham play.”
In came the likes of Lucas Paqueta, Gianluca Scamacca, Nayef Aguerd and Maxwel Cornet.
But the Hammers are yet to reap the rewards of their splurge and Moyes is unwilling to trust his impressive attacking cohort, sticking with a defensive, low-energy style.
Up until Sunday’s lifeless 2-0 derby loss to Tottenham, key West Ham figures have arrogantly dismissed the possibility that the London Stadium tenants could drop into the Championship.
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Moyes declared in December that his team were in a European battle, NOT a relegation battle.
Such comments came after recording just four league wins at that point.
Hammers captain Declan Rice parroted his manager’s delusion, insisting West Ham were not in “a relegation fight at all”.
But with West Ham sitting in the bottom three with just 20 points from 23 games, recording one win in their last ten Prem games, and mustering just four shots on target in their last three outings, the tune has predictably changed.
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West Ham’s attacking metrics have dropped off a cliff this season
Perhaps matching Avram Grant’s points tally after 23 games in the relegation season of 2010-11 has awoken the Hammers from their state of paralysis.
“Let’s see who’s up for the fight,” said Moyes, after jeers of “West Ham are going down” rang around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where his team failed to lay a glove on their London rivals.
“I’ll be looking to see the colour of the players’ eyes in the next week,” challenged the ex-Manchester United boss.
Lifelong Hammers fan Flynn Downes, who joined the club from Swansea in the summer, said: “We know what we’re in for NOW, it’s a relegation battle, if you like the facts or not, that’s what it is so yeah, let’s have it.”
Rice, who looks set to leave West Ham in the summer with the Premier League’s big boys circling, even questioned Moyes’ tactics.
Moyes sent out a back five protected by a midfield three who have posed very little attacking threat this season, leaving Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen isolated.
The Hammers are setting up to not concede goals, which is all well and good, but they’re neglecting one important factor that wins you football matches… scoring goals.
The England star said: “When you play with five at the back and the three, like we set up today, maybe our strikers felt a bit isolated when we got the ball up to them — they didn’t really have enough around them, not enough support.”
Moyes is yet to win an away league game at the “Big Six”, with his defensive approach against the big boys seeing his team ship 53 goals and score just 18
Despite West Ham’s league position, Moyes is safe for now, according to The Telegraph.
Astonishingly, the Hammers overlords have taken encouragement from recent performances.
Up next are relegation rivals Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium on Saturday – a team they lost to 1-0 earlier on in the season.
Lose that six-pointer and you’d expect Moyes would be dismissed – the Hammers simply cannot afford to waste such fixtures with Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd still to come.
But the Guardian reports that a lack of alternatives could keep Moyes in a job regardless of Saturday’s result.
Available managers will undoubtedly be reluctant to accept a short-term firefighting deal which poses the risk of stamping a relegation on their CV.
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Had the Hammers been more ruthless pre-World Cup, their New Year fortunes may have been different and their attraction far greater.
A new manager would’ve had a six-week break to tinker on the training ground and 23 Prem games to claw West Ham’s squad back into top half contention, where it should be.
West Ham have more than 55 per cent of total touches in just four zones of the pitch from open play, surrendering heavily in midfield More

DECLAN RICE questioned David Moyes’ tactics — as West Ham plunged further into trouble.England star Rice felt the Irons’ strikers were isolated in Sunday’s derby defeat, which leaves them 18th in the Premier League.
Declan Rice has questioned David Moyes’ tactics after their loss to SpursCredit: Rex
David Moyes has seen his side sink to 18th in the Premier LeagueCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
And absent Antonio Conte masterminded Tottenham’s win — to move back into the top four —  by sending texts to No 2 Cristian Stellini during the game. 
Rice said: “When you play with five at the back and the three, like we set up today, maybe our strikers felt a bit isolated when we got the ball up to them —  they didn’t really have enough around them, not enough support.”
Moyes led West Ham to sixth and seventh in the table in his two complete seasons since returning for a second spell as boss in December 2019.
This term is reminiscent of the relegation battle he faced when he first arrived.
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The Hammers offered little as Spurs won thanks to goals from Emerson Royal and Son Heung-min.
And Scot Moyes said: “It’s been a problem all season, we haven’t been able to create.
“The players have been challenged now, let’s see who’s up for the fight.
“I will be looking to see the players and the colour of their eyes this  week. You can imagine what the colour of mine will be.”
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Spurs are back in the top four for the first time since New Year’s Eve and will stay there for two weeks, with Newcastle in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
They won it with boss Conte resting back in Italy as he continues recovery from gallbladder surgery.
His assistant Stellini said: “Conte sent some texts to the bench and they transferred it to me.
“He is good and can be involved, so that is fine.
“Sometimes I wanted to do things and I asked him — sometimes he told us to wait and sometimes he asked what we felt about players and their stamina.”
Stellini said he did not expect Conte to return for Sunday’s visit of Chelsea but the week after, either for the trip to Wolves or the Champions League last-16 second leg at home to AC Milan.
Son started on the bench  but hit his fifth Prem goal this season four minutes after coming on.
It was only the second time he had been dropped in the league this season — the first coming in September’s 6-2 thrashing of Leicester when he hit a second-half hat-trick.
Son, 30,  said: “Nobody wants to sit on the bench but  you have to accept it.
“The decision is always made by the manager.”
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Tottenham hit out at the “utterly reprehensible” online racist abuse aimed at Son during the game.
Spurs have reported the trolling to the authorities and urged action against the offenders. More