West Ham reject Manchester City’s offer to buy Declan Rice

West Ham United rejected Manchester City’s bid for Declan Rice.

the athlete It reported City made an official £80m bid with a further £10m added to West Ham for Rice on Monday night.

Arsenal had a club-record bid of up to £90m (including £75m and £15m in add-ons) rejected by their Premier League rivals earlier this month, opening the door for City to make the move.

Rice’s contract at West Ham expires in 2024, with the option of a one-year extension.

But West Ham chairman David Sullivan said after the club’s Europa League triumph that he expected the England international to have played his last game for the club, adding that he “wants to go”.

Rice has made 245 appearances for West Ham since making his debut in 2017.

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Mark Carey analysis

Rice does not jump in the face of challenges at the first sign of danger. Instead, he patrols in midfield, maintains good positional discipline, and then gets involved in his defensive antics at the right moments.

This is reflected in the numbers, as Rice’s figure of 4.2 “real” tackles – denoting tackles plus challenges lost as well as fouls committed – per 1,000 touches of an opponent places him just 62nd among a group of 69 defensive and central midfielders with 900+ Senior Chief. League minutes played last season.

Crucially, on the occasions that Rice does put his foot down, his technique ensures that he is often the one to come out on top.

No one in the same group of 69 players has a “real” win rate better than 70 percent.

Analysis by JJ Bull

Rice is one of the best players in Europe at breaking up opposition attacks. He can recover the ball, but then carries it downfield, turning defensive play into attacking.

His reading of the game is top notch – seems instinctive – and that’s what he does really well: anticipating, timing, and making decisions.

West Ham often play a 4-2-3-1 and Rice is one of their central midfielders, often alongside Tomas Soucek. He’s the one who forms a defensive triangle to build up from behind and is always available to receive a pass.

But splitting play is where his real strength lies, with patrolling the middle of the field so no counter-attacks can breach it.

(Photo: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)