Rice plays up ‘special connection’ to West Ham fans amid transfer speculation

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Declan Rice has emphasised the connection he has with West Ham United and their fans amid transfer rumours linking him with a summer move, as per BT Sport.

The Daily Mirror report that both the Manchester clubs are on the trail of Rice, who made his England debut earlier this month but Rice has outlined his commitment to the club.

Rice said: “I love every minute of being at West Ham. Being compared to players, being linked to other teams, I don’t really take any of it in, to be honest.

“I’m happy. I’m playing week in, week out. I have a special connection with the fans. It’s unbelievable. If you think about it too much you get caught up in it. I’m only 20, you’ve got your whole career ahead of you.”

West Ham fans have seen the likes of Dimitri Payet and Marko Arnautovic agitate for moves after becoming key figures at the club in recent years and will hope that Rice doesn’t go the same way.

He seems a lot more grounded than those characters, able to deal with the inevitable attention and rumours that come with breaking into the Premier League and shining at such a young age.

The Hammers will hope to keep hold of him for as long as they can and hope that Pep Guardiola and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are forced to look elsewhere for their new holding midfielders this summer.