DECLAN RICE IS fully focused on his West Ham future amid ongoing speculation linking him with a big-money move this summer.
The 20-year-old has enjoyed a dizzying rise during a 2018/19 campaign when he switched international allegiance from Ireland, with Manchester United one of a number of clubs frequently listed as being among his admirers.
Rice feared he was not good enough for the Premier League when he was hauled off at half-time in West Ham’s 4-0 humiliation at Liverpool in their opening game of the season, and considered asking manager Manuel Pellegrini for a loan move away from the club.
“After the game, when I got dragged [off], I thought that I wasn’t cut out for the Premier League,” Rice said ahead of England’s Nations League semi-final against the Netherlands next week.
“After the first game the transfer window is still open and I was honestly thinking about going to speak to the manager to maybe go on loan somewhere.
“That was tough that day against Liverpool. We got beat 4-0 and mentally it’s tough. The manager told me I would get another chance and I needed to keep working.”
Pellegrini was true to his word and Rice feels he “hasn’t looked back” since returning to the fray for a 3-1 victory at Everton in September.
Now, far from doubting himself, he has designs on the upper echelons of the game.
“When you start out in football, you always want to play at the top, you want to play in the Champions League,” he said.
“If you were in football and didn’t want to do that there’d be no point playing.”
Nevertheless, West Ham supporters should not interpret this as an indication that Rice’s head has been turned. On the contrary, he is loving life at the London Stadium.
“Everything’s good. I know there’s speculation but during the season last year I signed a new five-year contract with West Ham, so all my focus is fully on playing for West Ham,” he added.
“I’ve got a great connection with the fans – they love me, I love them and that’s the way that it is at the moment. I’m not thinking about anything else.”
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