West Ham to slap a £150MILLION transfer fee for star midfielder Declan Rice

West Ham will demand a record transfer fee of £150million as they prepare to sell England midfielder Declan Rice this summer.

The London club have fought a losing battle trying to persuade Rice to sign a new contract and privately accept they will have to cash in at the end of the season.

But manager David Moyes and the West Ham board are determined not to sell at anything less than £150m. That is £50m more than Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish when they broke the British record last summer.

Manchester United are the leading suitors for Rice as they look to replace Paul Pogba, who will leave Old Trafford on a free transfer in the summer. Chelsea had been in the hunt but are now unable to buy players after the Government sanctioning of owner Roman Abramovich.

Rice is known to be interested in a move to United but it remains to be seen if the club can stretch to that kind of figure. United are also likely to need a striker ahead of next season.

Equally, West Ham may find that Chelsea’s problems adversely impact their ability to get that headline figure for the player. If United emerged as the only bidder, it would make it tougher for the Hammers to stick to their guns on the price.

Rice, 23, has two years left on his current contract, although the club have an option to extend that by a year. The closer the England international gets to the end of his deal, the weaker West Ham’s bargaining position becomes.

Talks between Rice and his club have not officially broken down but Moyes is known to be resigned to his best player’s desire to move to a bigger team.

Moyes said earlier this season that clubs had missed out on the chance to buy Rice at a lower price last summer. ‘There was a bargain to be got with Declan at £100m,’ he said. ‘That bargain is now gone.’