Declan Rice is growing increasingly concerned that he has not been offered the deal he wants at West Ham United.
The impressive young defender come midfielder has been a huge plus point for Manuel Pellegrini this season, and his progress has not gone unnoticed with a hots of Premier League clubs showing a strong interest.
Rice’s current deal has 18-months to run, but with The Hammers also having a one-year option which they will be taking.
Talks with Rice, who looks set to switch his international allegiance from Republic of Ireland to England in 2019, have not gone well with West Ham unwilling to meet the current demands.
West Ham are willing to give Rice, who has become an important part of The Hammers first-team set-up, a massive pay rise – but their present offer is short of what is being asked.d
Now The Hammers are looking to put the talks on hold until the summer, but Rice and his representatives are concerned by this stance.
Manchester United have been leading the chase for Rice in recent weeks, actively scouting him – but I understand the rest of the “top-six” Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham are also keeping close tabs on his situation.
West Ham have insisted that they are happy to wait until the summer to sort Rice out, but sources close to the player believe that could see rivals make offers this January.
Bookmakers don’t believe Rice will be on the move, but should a deal transpire – they make Manchester United favourites.