West Ham transfer news: Declan Rice talks down summer exit but sets long-term sights on Champions League football
Midfielder has seen stock rise after breakout season at London Stadium
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Your support makes all the difference.Declan Rice has talked down the prospect of leaving West Ham this summer but admitted that his long-term sights are set firmly on Champions League football.
The 20-year-old emerged as one of West Ham’s standout players across the course of last season, and was rewarded for his efforts with a new five-year contract in December.
Despite this, champions Manchester City have been linked to the youngster as they look to further strengthen their midfield in the summer transfer window.
But speaking from St George’s Park ahead of England’s Nations League semi-final with the Netherlands, Rice insisted he remains fully focused on playing for West Ham.
“Everything is good,” he said. “I know that there’s speculation but during the season last year I just signed a new five-year contract with West Ham. So my focus is fully on playing for West Ham.
“I’ve got a great connection with the fans; the fans love me and I love them and that’s the way it is at the moment. I’m not thinking about anything else, for sure.”
Nonetheless, Rice revealed his desire to one day play Champions League football, pointing to the example of Frenkie de Jong, a fellow young, defensive midfielder who has risen from relative obscurity to the top of the game.
“When you start out in football you always want to play at the top,” he added. “You want to play in the Champions League. If you were in football and you didn’t want to do that there’d be no point playing.
“But the likes of De Jong like you said, he got his move to Barcelona and it’s fully deserved. He’s a top top player and I think you’ve seen that in the Champions League. It would be great to come up against him in the Nations League.”
For now, Rice has the more pressing matter of England’s Nations League showdown with the Netherlands on 9 June.
The midfielder, who earlier this year switched his international allegiances from the Republic of Ireland to England, believes victory in Portugal would place Gareth Southgate’s men in “good stead” for the European Championships next summer, as well as the 2022 World Cup beyond that.
“I think it’s massive,” he said. “It’s really important. We’ve got ourselves into the semi-final. We’ve got a massive chance now to create history.
“With the squad Gareth has put together, with the players that we have, for sure we’ve got to be looking at the Nations League and winning it. It would stand us in good stead for the future and the Euros next year and the World Cup after that.”
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