Declan Rice will leave West Ham this summer, chairman David Sullivan has confirmed.
The England star has been linked with a potential switch to either Manchester United or Manchester City, with Rice intent on leaving the London Stadium this summer. United boss Erik ten Hag is searching for a midfielder and personal terms have been agreed with Mason Mount.
The West Ham captain lifted the Europa Conference League in Prague on Wednesday following a 2-1 win over Fiorentina. He gave little away about his future plans when speaking to the media post-match, but now Sullivan has lifted the lid on his situation.
Asked by talkSPORT whether the final was Rice's last game in a West Ham shirt, he admitted: "I think 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 £10million to stay at West Ham in that time (in lost wages). And he wants to go. You can't keep a player who doesn't want to be there."
Speaking after the trophy lift, Rice stopped short on ruling out a summer exit. He said: “I love this club, I love playing for this club. There hasn’t been nothing [decided] yet, so my focus is on playing for West Ham, enjoying tonight and seeing what happens.
“I’m captain of this club, I absolutely love it to pieces and cannot speak highly enough of this place so let’s just see what happens.” Reports suggest West Ham could hold out for a figure of around £100m for Rice, who has two years left on his current deal.
Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Chelsea have also been linked with the 24-year-old.
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