Rice wonder goal sends signal to suitors

LONDON : West Ham United captain Declan Rice's moment of magic against Gent in the Europa Conference League on Thursday will long be remembered by fans in the London Stadium.

His solo run from inside his own half before dispatching a clinical shot into the corner broke Gent's resistance as West Ham went on to win 4-1 for a 5-2 aggregate triumph.

It put West Ham into the semi-finals of Europe's third-tier club competition and they are now favourites to win it.

But the fear amongst the West Ham faithful is that England midfielder Rice, long compared to club great and England's World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore, may soon be producing these kinds of performances on grander stages.

The 24-year-old has one more year left on his contract and with West Ham still mired in a relegation dogfight, some of England's biggest clubs are circling.

Premier League leaders Arsenal are heavily-linked with Rice who earlier this season made no secret of his desire to play in the Champions League - an unlikely scenario with West Ham.

"I see my friends here, who are playing Champions League and for big trophies," Rice said while on England duty at the World Cup in December. "You only get one career and at the end you want to look back at what you've won and the biggest games you've played in. I really want to do that."

His goal against Gent will only add to the clamour for the defensive midfielder who is reportedly also a target for Manchester United and Liverpool.

West Ham manager David Moyes, whose priority is to keep the club out of the relegation zone but also has a European semi-final to look forward to, has been in the game long enough to understand the pressure the club will come under to sell Rice.

"He is some player. That is why we value him