Football transfer rumours: Will Declan Rice leave West Ham or stay?

N o sooner had David Moyes done his David Pleat-style break for ecstatic freedom in Prague than the glare of speculation turned to Declan Rice, with the West Ham captain widely tipped to leave the club following the Europa Conference League final.

Arsenal? Manchester United? Manchester City? Liverpool? Bayern Munich? Or will he do what Steven Gerrard did post-Istanbul 2005 and go back on the decision to join Chelsea? The price, should anyone wish to pay it, will be commensurate with the £106m it cost Chelsea to buy Enzo Fernández. “I love this club and I love playing for this club,” said Dec in the afterglow of victory. And yet.

One place young Dec won’t be going is Saudi Arabia, though a swathe of players could still be snapped up by Saudi clubs, particularly in light of Lionel Messi choosing Miami over Mecca. Riyad Mahrez may find Saturday’s Champions League final is his last for Manchester City with Al-Ahli wanting the Algerian.

Sergio Busquets, previously linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, could also be heading to Miami along with Ángel Di María, Messi’s old mates from Barça and Argentina respectively. Oh, and Luis Suárez is joining the party, too, having played recently for Grêmio in Brazil.

David de Gea, mind, doesn’t fancy leaving Manchester United just yet, or joining Miami, and would rather stay on than head to Saudi. Harry Maguire really wants to leave and Aston Villa are happy to take him, while they are also interested in Pau Torres of Unai Emery’s former club Villarreal. Also heading for the Old Trafford exit will be forgotten man Donny van de Beek.

United, meanwhile, have made Kim Min-jae of Napoli a leading target. With a buyout clause of £42m he’s very gettable, though Newcastle, flush with Saudi