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" 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."
More to follow.
