Could a top four finish for West Ham stop Rice moving to Chelsea or Man Utd?

Stefan Bienkowski

• 5 Nov 2021 05:53 CDT
• 8 min read

While the world has been eagerly watching Manchester United fall apart and Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City get on with a genuine title race, West Ham have flown under the radar with some impressive performances.

After 10 games in the Premier League this season, David Moyes’ side currently sit in fourth place with just two defeats to their name.

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Not only will this excite Hammers fans into dreaming about the prospect of playing in the Champions League next season, but it could also play a major factor in whether Declan Rice actually stays or leaves next summer.

Could West Ham finish in the top four?

After 10 games, Moyes’ side have already shown a remarkable ability to pick up points against big and small teams in the Premier League this season.

Alongside grinding out results against the likes of Newcastle, Leeds and Aston Villa, the Hammers have also looked good against fellow top four hopefuls Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton.

If Moyes’ side can keep up this kind of form for the remainder of the season, they’ll certainly be contenders for fourth place and in many ways look better equipped than some of their rivals.

However, West Ham’s hopes of reaching the Champions League may come down to just how quickly Conte can turn things around at Spurs or whether Manchester United will bounce back with or without Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Like most clubs, the Hammers will simply have to do as well as they can and hope their rivals continue to drop silly points each week.

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Would that be enough to keep Rice at the club?

While Rice has been heavily linked with Man Utd and Chelsea for a number of years now, the player has never made much of a fuss about the transfer saga and is seemingly perfectly content at West Ham.

Few would begrudge Rice wanting to challenge himself at the highest level one day, but if West Ham can finish in the top four this season then Moyes and his backroom staff would surely be able to convince the England international that he’s as well placed at his current club as he would be at Chelsea or Man Utd.

“He won’t want to play in the Europa League,” noted former Aston Villa and England striker Gabby Agbonlahor when asked about Rice’s future in an interview with Football Insider.

“He’ll want to be in the big boy competitions with the likes of the Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool players.

“He starts for England, he’s a world-class midfielder. West Ham have now got a season to get into the top-four to keep him.

“If West Ham don’t get into the top-four this season then Declan Rice probably wants to move on to bigger things.”