Ex-West Ham man picks ‘best club possible’ for Rice amid Man Utd links

West Ham are still the “best club possible” for Declan Rice amid reports linking him with the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, according to Carlton Cole.

The Englishman has progressed significantly over the past few years both domestically and internationally.

The 23-year-old is now rightly considered to be one of the standout players in the Premier League after helping West Ham to a sixth-place finish last season.

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Rice shone at last year’s European Championships as England reached the final of the tournament.

This season the midfielder has been at the forefront of West Ham’s push in the Europa League. They have reached the quarter-final stage.

Over recent years, Rice has been consistently linked with a move away from West Ham. Man Utd seem to be interested in him.

Cole has now suggested that Rice may be best off staying at West Ham:

“Where is he going? I just can’t see him going anywhere and [clubs] affording the price,” Cole told the Daily Mail.

“I don’t think Chelsea can do it at the moment for obvious reasons. Where else is he going to go? Man United? No, they aren’t in a good place at the moment either. Why go to Man United when you can stay at West Ham?

“We’ll finish above Man United and what are you gonna say then? Nothing, you can’t just go and get our best players. We’ll finish above Man United and no one is going to stay anything. He is gonna stay at the best club possible.

“Especially if they bring somebody else in that compliments his style, you’ve got [Tomas] Soucek there, bring another striker in and all of this conversation will be done at the end of the season.

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