Chelsea and Arsenal have been told to steer away from paying a British record fee to sign West Ham star Declan Rice. The England midfielder has been the subject of severe interest from the two London clubs ahead of one of the busiest transfer sagas of the summer.
Rice has been one of the Hammers' star assets for some years now after breaking through the club's academy and becoming a first team regular. Mark Noble's retirement in the summer has carved the way for Rice to take more responsibility in David Moyes' side with the captains armband.
The midfielder has hinted at his desire to play in the Champions League at some point in his career and with West Ham currently flirting with the relegation zone this season, a move looks destined to come to fruition ahead of the 2023/24 season.
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However, his services won't be cheap and Moyes has already claimed that either Arsenal or Chelsea will have to break the British transfer record to sign him. The record previously sat at £105million paid by Barcelona for Philippe Coutinho in 2018 but Enzo Fernandez's £106m arrival from Benfica in January set a new one.
“I thought he was a top player in the first-half, really was," Moyes said after the draw with Newcastle. "Showed so many things and it’s interesting, undoubtedly, Declan is going to be a top player and undoubtedly he’ll be a British transfer record if he ever leaves West Ham, and more.”
But despite Moyes' claims that Rice will cost more than many presumed before, former Premier League striker Dwight Yorke has questioned whether the midfielder would be worth over £106m at the end of the season. The ex-Man United man has suggested that the price tag is only being thrown about because of Rice's nationality.
Speaking to OLBG, he said: "David Moyes has said Declan Rice would break the transfer record because he's seen how much Chelsea have signed Enzo Fernandez for. Rice is an English product so Moyes has to big him up, you can't let all the foreigners come and take the limelight!
"Rice is a good player but he does not influence the game enough at a top level for me, I would not say he is as tremendous as everyone makes him out to be. With the market we're in, Rice will have a similar fee to Fernandez, we've seen prices like that on English players like Jack Grealish."
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