West Ham manager David Moyes insists he is not concerned by Declan Rice's continued refusal to sign a new contract at the club, instead hoping that the midfielder is simply holding out for more money.
90min understands that Rice will consider leaving West Ham this summer after rejecting a third offer of a new deal, with the 23-year-old keen to play regular Champions League football and compete for the biggest trophies.
Manchester United are prepared to break their transfer record to sign Rice, while Manchester City and Chelsea both hold strong interest in the midfielder.
Despite the tricky situation, West Ham find themselves in no rush to sell. Rice remains under contract until 2024 and the Hammers also hold the option to extend that by a further 12 months as well.
With that in mind, Moyes stressed that he is not losing any sleep over Rice's situation.
"I’ve said it and I think we have said what we think," Moyes said after his side's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday. "We like Dec and he’s got three and a half years to go on his contract so I don’t think there is any big panic.
"We’ve got three and a half years so it isn’t the biggest priority. We’ve got other priorities, trying to add to the squad and get other positions in.
"Maybe he just wants more money. People do turn down contracts. It is not unusual for players at clubs to turn down contracts, maybe it is a negotiation tactic."
Listen now to 90min's brand new podcast, Talking Transfers, with Scott Saunders & Graeme Bailey. Toby Cudworth joins the show this week to discuss contract situations at West Ham, while there are updates on Man City's pursuit of Erling Haaland and Chelsea's plans for Romelu Lukaku.
That being said, Moyes refused to rule out cashing in on Rice, insisting that West Ham would be just fine without their captain.
"I sold Wayne Rooney and Everton got better," the boss said. "It doesn’t always mean that things don’t happen. We’ve said before that we’ve got no intention of selling so I don’t know why you keep asking."
Source : 90min