Declan Rice in line for one grand final farewell with West Ham

A round West Ham, there is zero bitterness at the thought of their most cherished talent moving on this summer. They have been crucial to Declan Rice’s progression into one of the best midfielders in the world, giving him a chance after he made a tearful exit from Chelsea at the age of 14, but the clock has been ticking all season. The mood is one of acceptance rather than anger and if there is regret it has to end this way any pain will surely float away if Rice’s final game for West Ham brings them their first major trophy for 43 years.

There are ways to say goodbye to the club that made you. The exit beckons, but so does immortality in the East End. So does the chance to follow in the footsteps of the great Bobby Moore, the only player to captain West Ham to a European trophy.

It is a defining moment for Rice. Lead West Ham to victory against Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday and the 24-year-old would cement his place as a club legend. He would not have the longevity of Moore, who led Ron Greenwood’s side that defeated 1860 Munich 2-0 in the Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1965, but that was a different time. The simple fact is that Rice would have achieved more than any player in claret and blue since the 1980 FA Cup final, when Billy Bonds captained the team and Trevor Brooking’s header helped John Lyall’s Division Two side shock Arsenal.

Fans still stew over the club’s failure to build around Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Jermain Defoe, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Glen Johnson at the turn of the century. The difference with Rice is that West Ham have seen the best of him. They would not have finished sixth in 2021 or reached the Europa League semi‑finals last season without him. He is a