What David Moyes is privately thinking about Declan Rice’s potential move to Arsenal or Man City

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West Ham United manager David Moyes accepts that he is going to lose Declan Rice this summer as Arsenal and Manchester City tussle for his signature. But he has rather differing thoughts when it comes to transfer fees.

Rice is expected to leave the Hammers for a fee of around £100m – maybe a tad more with add-ons – as Arsenal and Manchester City battle it out.

The England man has the world at his feet and, seemingly, can pick which club he joins next, with Arsenal, City, and Manchester United among the options.

David Moyes wants more than £100m for Declan Rice

According to the Daily Mail, the final fee when all things are taken into consideration could be around the £120m mark.

However, the Mail claims that behind the scenes, David Moyes is privately hoping for a fee closer to £150m. That is the figure he believes his star man is worth in the current market, and he’s making those feelings known.

Of course, Moyes’ wishes might not be met. Between £100-120m is still an awful lot of money for West Ham to work with.

For Rice, it seems like it’s approaching crunch time. He won’t want to force the issue here for the Hammers and look like he’s acting up.

But if a fee cannot be agreed soon, then he might just have to start influencing things a bit.

Moyes right to go high

The thing is, for David Moyes, Declan Rice is irreplaceable. So really, it doesn’t matter what sort of money they get, he’ll feel like he can’t get someone better in.

In that sense, asking for £150m makes perfect sense. It means Moyes has more chance of finding a player who at the very least can come close to what Rice offers.

We all know deep down it probably won’t go to £150m. But Moyes is right to hold this view and there’s no doubt he’ll be pushing behind the scenes to get the maximum.