Declan Rice told to seize Arsenal and Bayern chance as exit looms – EXCLUSIVE

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Former West Ham star Joe Cole has urged supporters to accept Declan Rice’s desire to play for a bigger club as the captain prepares for what could be his final game for the club on Wednesday. The club captain is expected to leave the London Stadium this summer with only a year left to run on his contract, with Arsenal and Bayern Munich both interested in signing the midfielder, and Cole admitted he faced the same dilemma as Rice has now.

Both clubs are both monitoring the £100million-rated star, along with Manchester United, and the 24-year-old is keen to play at the highest level in the Champions League. It means the UEFA Conference League final against Fiorentina in Prague could be the last time Rice pulls on a West Ham shirt after making 244 appearances for the Hammers.

And BT Sport pundit Cole, 41, used the example of Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and his own career to suggest that it could be time for him to move on after they all experienced success at Chelsea and Manchester United respectively.

“I don’t want to talk about Declan’s future the day before one of the biggest games of his career but he will be a West Ham icon,” he told Express Sport.

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“He’s come through the system and it’s important for the club that the players are made there, bred there and brought up through the culture.

“Unfortunately, we all moved on. I think this is crucial for fans when they talk amongst themselves [to understand] players like Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Frank Lampard, myself… our ambitions outgrew the club.

“We didn’t outgrow the club, but you have a finite time as a professional footballer and win trophies. You want to play in the Champions League and you want to use the best opportunities to pull on that England shirt.”

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Given their standing in European competition and impressive recent seasons in the Premier League, the Hammers are in a better position now than they were 20 years ago to try and keep Rice at the club at all costs.

And Cole says that it is not a forgone conclusion that the midfielder leaves this summer.

“West Ham weren’t in a position where they could hold onto us, but now I believe with the right management and philosophy – West Ham are the second-highest attended club in the country – so you won’t even need to have a conversation about your top player leaving,” he added.

“But there has to be lots of steps that go on between now and then [to keep Rice]. Declan will always be loved by the West Ham fans, wherever he goes. If he stays, he’ll go on to become an all-time great. It’s not a conversation for now, it’s time to focus on him lifting that trophy.”

If Rice were to depart, it would at least give West Ham boss Moyes a healthy budget with which to reinvest in the transfer market – and Cole has identified where his former club need to strengthen.

“Someone in that midfield needs to come in and be a ball-playing midfielder. It depends which way they want to go,” he said. “Recruitment is very tough, but I’d like to see someone come in next to [Lucas] Paqueta and take some of that creative burden off him, although I think he’s been absolutely brilliant the past few weeks.”

BT Sport is the exclusive home of the UEFA Europa Conference League Final. Watch West Ham United v Fiorentina exclusively live on BT Sport 1 on Wednesday 7th June from 6:30pm. The final is also available for anyone to watch on the BT Sport website, YouTube channel and app

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