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Decan Rice 'will REJECT West Ham's eight-year contract offer' amid Man United and Chelsea interest

  /  autty

West Ham midfielder Declan Rice will reportedly rejected an eight-year contract worth £200,000-a-week.

The England star is understood to have turned down three deals previously from the Hammers, who are desperate to tie him down to a new contract with Manchester United and Chelsea said to be plotting a move for him.

The Hammers are believed to have come to his team with a massive long-term offer to tempt him into committing to the club - but Rice is expected to reject this too, according to the Sun, with the player seeing it as 'crazy' to pledge to West Ham for that long.

The 23-year-old is enjoying a brilliant season once again, building on his impressive stint with England at Euro 2020 last summer, and West Ham are aware they face the prospect of losing him for nothing in two years' time.

Rice and his representatives view the offer from West Ham as 'playing to the crowd' after being offered the £10million-a-year package and the player is now standing firm after rejecting a fourth proposal from the club, the report adds.

He is keen not to 'box himself in', it says, fearing he could be placed in a similar predicament to England team-mate Harry Kane, who signed a long-term deal with Tottenham before later seeking an exit.

Kane was in line for a move to Manchester City last summer but the moved collapsed with Spurs unwilling to accept City' offer of £120m - and with the switch now off the cards after the club signed Erling Haaland - Rice does not want to find himself in a similar situation.

Manchester United and Chelsea are the two leading contenders to sign Rice in the upcoming transfer window, while Manchester City are also thought to be tracking his progress. Chelsea - where Rice started his career - could offer him the Champions League football he craves, as well as the prospect of trophies.

But many suitors could find themselves struggling to meet West Ham's huge asking price of £150m - the same fee Spurs asked for Kane.

And there is a belief within West Ham that no one will be able to come up with that price tag to sweep Rice away from the London Stadium, it says, and they feel he will stay at the club next season.

However, that won't shift the player's desire to leave and won't change his mind about signing a new deal, it goes on.

It came after a previous report of West Ham's huge eight-year offer - and the club were believed to be willing to make it a 10-year one if he wanted. The issue within Rice's camp is that they believe he could get as much as £300-400,000 a week at a bigger club.

Rice has been West Ham's star performer over a fantastic season that saw them reach the semi-finals of the Europa League before being knocked out by Eintracht Frankfurt.

With club captain Mark Noble restricted mostly to appearances from the substitute's bench, Rice has marked himself out as West Ham's on-field leader and his improvement has been noticed by several top clubs.

Chelsea are keen to bring their former academy talent back to the club, although the situation may be complicated given the Blues' new ownership.

Similarly, Manchester United are set to embark on a huge rebuild under incoming boss Erik ten Hag, with several midfielders including Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata slated to be jettisoned.