Pundit shares West Ham ‘big worry’ after source’s Declan Rice update – ‘suddenly…’
West Ham may struggle to sign top players in January if Declan Rice is allowed to leave.
That’s according to former Hibernian striker Tam McManus, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about how the Hammers may struggle to attract top talent in January.
On Wednesday (23 November) sources told Football Insider that West Ham now expect to lose Rice, 23, to a Champions League giant next year regardless of how their season pans out.
Liverpool, Man United and Chelsea are among the Premier League teams keeping close tabs on Rice, who has rejected multiple offers to extend his West Ham contract.
The Hammers entered the World Cup break on the back of a home defeat to Leicester and sitting in 16th place, one point off the relegation zone.
McManus fears players won’t want to join the Irons in January as they look to strengthen.
“My big worry is that West Ham will struggle to sign top-quality players if they let their best players go,” McManus told Football Insider‘s Ben Wild.
“As a player, you see what clubs are doing before you join them. If you are a player and you see West Ham near the bottom of the league and losing their best players, there might be better options out there.
“West Ham are a huge club, we all know that. But to a player joining from abroad, you look at the league table and you look how good the squad is.
“Suddenly, if you see them that far down the table while Rice has just joined one of the teams at the top of the league
“You wonder what the plan is.”
In other news, Scamacca should be getting a ban as a Hammers controversy is missed by the BBC cameras.