West Ham will not rush to appoint a new captain in the wake of Declan Rice joining Arsenal.
Rice completed his £105million move to the Gunners on Saturday, signing a five-year contract with the option for a further 12 months.
It leaves West Ham needing a new captain after Rice took over from previous skipper Mark Noble last summer.
Hammers boss David Moyes, however, will not rush to appoint a successor and will use pre-season to assess his options.
“It’s only just happened (Rice leaving) a day or so ago, so we’ve got time to think about it,” he said. “It will be decided by myself.
“I think a captain is hugely important. I have had some great boys who have captained my teams over the years.
“Mark Noble was exceptional for West Ham. Phil Neville was exceptional for Everton for me. Declan was great in the short period here he was captain at West Ham.
“So we will look closely to see what is the right choice and we have got a bit of time before the season starts and [when] we need to make a decision on that.
“Players come and go from all clubs, so not just our club. I have had it before in the past as well.
“You move on, you find a new way of preparing, getting things done, which we will do. But as I say, he’s only just gone.
“Today is Monday, he has only just gone on Saturday, so it’s very quick since it happened really.”
The Hammers are looking to bring in new players now Rice has left and their coffers have been boosted by the £105m fee they received for him.
Moyes refused to be drawn on a move for Harry Maguire, who has been stripped of the Manchester United captaincy, and he is uncertain if clubs being aware of West Ham’s boosted budget will impact deals.
“We have no idea,” said Moyes. “We will find out in time, but I couldn’t really give you answer to that at the moment. We couldn’t be sure.”
Moyes is keen to move on from the Rice transfer saga now, saying during his press conference here in Perth: “Well I have seen what I have to see from him from a West Ham point of view.
“We had a great boy who played great for West Ham. Nothing to do with me now. It’s to do with Dec and to do with Arsenal.”
The midfielder’s departure, however, leaves a sizeable hole in the West Ham team and dressing room, but Angelo Ogbonna insists the squad are prepared.
“Talking about Dec, we saw him growing up from the academy and everyone is really pleased for him and what he’s done,” he said.
“I think all the players already stepped up. Like the manager said, Mark Noble was really good as a captain and then Declan did his best as well.
“I think whoever is going to get in that position will do the best to get something important for the club.”
