‘Ludicrous’ West Ham chiefs slammed after ‘ridiculous’ £83.2m Declan Rice development – pundit
It is “ludicrous” for West Ham to offer Declan Rice an eight-year contract, according to Danny Mills.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Man City and England defender claimed the club would be taking a “risk” as things can change so quickly and Rice is just as likely to sign a five-year deal.
TalkSPORT’s Jim White reported on Wednesday (11 May) that West Ham have offered the 23-year-old an eight-year deal worth £200,000-a-week.
Rice would earn £83.2million over the course of the contract if he agreed to the deal.
“We know that teams are going to be very interested in him but it will depend on what he wants to do,” Mills told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“An eight-year deal is ridiculous, it’s ludicrous. I’m sure within that there will be release clauses.
“They are saying they will guarantee him this for eight years which is a big investment from the club because things can change very, very quickly within a couple of seasons, never mind eight. That’s a little bit of a concern.
“I’d be surprised if they have offered him an eight-year deal. I’d advise him to sign it if there was a clause which meant he could get out.
“The club have no idea what is going to happen. It’s a huge outlay and who knows? We’ve seen players move and sign big contracts and it doesn’t happen for them.
“I don’t think it will happen but why take the risk? You’d get away with offering him five years.
“Eight years is unheard of apart from Alan Pardew at Newcastle and he got paid up after a year-and-a-half.”
In other news, West Ham are racing to sign a 24-year-old speed machine.