Every time David Moyes is asked to put a price on Declan Rice the number goes up and every time it does, outrage follows.
The most recent figure, a “minimum” of £150million, instantly sparked declarations from pundits and rival fans that the Hammers captain and England international simply isn’t worth that much.
Some argue that Rice doesn’t score enough goals or is not proven at the highest level in club football, but the 23-year-old is one of just two players (alongside Harry Kane) certain of their place in the England starting XI at the World Cup later this year.
You can argue the toss on that valuation, £50million above the current record for a British transfer, for hours on end, but frankly it misses the point.
Rice will always be more valuable to West Ham than he is to anyone else.
At just 23, he has already been the difference between playing Premier League football and dropping to the Championship, and has now been a key factor in earning a place in the Europa League, in which they are excelling.
Moyes puts the fact they missed out on a Champions League place by two points last season down to a run of six games in April and May where they were without Rice due to an injury picked up on international duty.
Without his ability and mindset, West Ham simply wouldn’t be where they are today. Try and put a price on that.
Add in the fact that there are few other emerging defensive midfielders with Rice’s quality, alongside the desperation of a few top clubs to land someone of his profile, and whatever figure you had in mind swells once more.
Comparisons can be drawn to Crystal Palace’s stand-off over Wilfried Zaha in years gone by. It may have mellowed since but at the time when Zaha was pushing to leave, the winger was the difference between survival and relegation, a cost of almost £120million to Steve Parish’s club.
Moyes prefers to compare their situation with Tottenham and Kane, however, believing he has one of the greatest assets on the market.
Manchester United and Chelsea are both keen on the midfielder, hailed by Moyes and childhood idol John Terry as the best in his position in Europe as well as earning comparisons to Roy Keane. Both clubs have a real interest in how much he is valued at and you can be assured their opinions differ to West Ham’s, but it does not matter a jot.
Rice will effectively have three years left on his contract this summer (his current deal runs for two years with the club holding the option of a third, which they will take up), meaning the power is still, just about, with West Ham.
Moyes is even more stark on the issue - stating that the academy graduate is simply not for sale. The Scot, however, knows the game he is playing.
The former Man United manager appears happy to put a steadily increasing price tag on his prize asset, thinning out the list of those who might be considering a bid while also setting the bar high for any negotiations and applying pressure to the boardroom - who also insist he is not for sale - not to accept a fee that he disagrees with.
With the Hammers gearing up for a seismic summer, it is by no means a certainty that Rice will leave.
Chelsea’s situation is complicated by the sanctions and bidding war hanging over the club at the moment, while Man United can offer no guarantee of consistent Champions League football, such is the current circus at Old Trafford.
It must be said that while Rice - who snubbed two new contract offers last year - dreams of making his mark on the grandest stages in club football, he has never pushed to leave the club that gave him his chance after being let go by Chelsea at 14 and there has never been a formal bid submitted.
When those bids do come, however, it will be down to West Ham and West Ham alone to decide whether they are big enough - only they know his true value.
