Declan Rice insisted his future still lies with West Ham despite their Europa League dream ending on Thursday night.
The Hammers were hoping to reach a European final for the first time since 1976, but lost out 3-1 on aggregate to Eintracht Frankfurt, losing the second leg 1-0 to their German opponents. The Premier League side were already facing an uphill battle having lost at home 2-1, but their task was made even more difficult after Aaron Cresswell was dismissed just 19 minutes into proceedings.
And Frankfurt took advantage of their numerical difference to establish a two-goal buffer when Rafael Borre scored the only goal of the night. West Ham pushed for a way back into the game, but a night of frustration was compounded when manager David Moyes was shown a red card for kicking a ball at a ball boy.
Defeat to Frankfurt ends what has been a dream European campaign for the Hammers and with it, the chance of earning a place in next season’s Champions League. It’s now back to reality for Moyes and his players, who must now refocus to secure a place in continental competition next term.
The Hammers are also braced for another summer of speculation regarding Rice, with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea both linked with the England international. United in particular are desperate for a midfielder in the ilk of Rice as new manager Erik ten Hag looks to build a side capable of implementing his high-octane style.
Rice has two years remaining on his current deal, with the option to extend that for a further 12 months, meaning his current club hold all of the cards and have no intention to sell. Moyes himself stated as much, placing a £150million valuation on his head.
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“The first thing to say is that he is not for sale," Moyes said last month. "If you are interested, well, it will be north of that. One hundred (million pounds) was cheap last summer. One hundred and fifty just now would be minimum but he is not for sale. What I do know is that it means there are only certain clubs that could even consider it.”
And Rice, who has aspirations of playing in the Champions League, has hinted he is happy to stick around at the London Stadium, promising supporters the team ‘will be back’ following elimination to Frankfurt. “Me coming off there, I have lost big games, the lads in there have lost big games, but I come off there with my head held high," he said in an emotional interview to BT Sport.
"We have given it such a good go, no one expected us to get past Sevilla, no one expected us to get past Lyon, we had a genuine belief from in the camp, with the fans and even from players from other teams texting us saying go out there and do it so we wanted to do it.
"It is a real gutter because I have got to listen to them celebrate, it is not nice, but we will be back. I am young, I want more. The lads want more. This club deserves more. We have shown as a club we can do these big European nights."
