West Ham United chairman David Sullivan has confirmed that in-demand captain Declan Rice will be sold this summer.
The 24-year-old midfielder became just the first Hammers skipper after Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds to lift silverware after beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday night.
Rice has spent his entire professional career with West Ham, making 245 appearances in all competitions since his debut in 2017, and has established himself as a star player under manager David Moyes.
However, the England international has been strongly linked with a summer exit from the London Stadium as the midfielder seeks to play Champions League football.
Moyes admitted last month that there is a "good chance" that Rice will leave this summer, while West Ham's No.41 acknowledged after winning the Europa Conference League that there is "interest from other clubs" in his services, but insisted he still has two years remaining on his contract.
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Hammers chairman Sullivan has since revealed that Rice has a gentleman's agreement to leave West Ham ahead of the 2023-24 campaign having previously turned down offers to extend his contract at the club.
Asked by talkSPORT whether West Ham's ECL final triumph over Fiorentina was Rice's last match for the club, Sullivan said: "I think it has to be. We promised him he could go.
"He set his heart on going and in due course he has to get on and we have to get a replacement.
"It is not something we wanted to happen. We offered him £200,000 a week 18 months ago and he turned it down. You can't keep a player who doesn't want to be there.
"I think the offers will start to come today. Three or four clubs have shown interest but out of respect to West Ham, while we're still playing, you don't make offers for players."
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Premier League runners-up Arsenal are believed to be at the front of the queue in the race to sign Rice, who has allegedly already agreed personal terms over a summer switch to the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners hierarchy are expected to step up their pursuit of the midfielder now that West Ham's continental journey has concluded, and they are said to be prepared to break their transfer record to lure the £100m-rated Englishman, Mikel Arteta's primary midfield target, to North London.
However, Arsenal could face stern competition from Manchester United, who are said to be 'serious contenders' in the race for Rice as manager Erik ten Hag's looks to strengthen his options in the middle of the pitch.
Manchester City and Bayern Munich have also been credited with an interest, although a possible transfer to the latter appears unlikely as it is thought that Rice would prefer to continue his career in the Premier League.
Oliver Thomas
