West Ham’s defensive struggles continue, as the team has now endured a 10-game stretch without a clean sheet. Manager David Moyes has candidly acknowledged the impact of Declan Rice’s departure, admitting that the club may have undersold the midfielder.
In his first public acknowledgment of the void left by Rice, Moyes expressed regret over the decision to part ways with the England midfielder, suggesting that West Ham may have settled for a lower transfer fee than warranted.
The absence of Rice’s composed and organized presence in midfield has been keenly felt by the team. Despite Rice facing a mixed reception upon his return to the London Stadium as an Arsenal player, Moyes recognizes his significant contribution to West Ham’s previous success.
Reflecting on the missed opportunity to command a higher transfer fee, Moyes reportedly believes that Rice’s value to the team surpasses the £105 million fee received for his transfer to Manchester United last summer. In hindsight, Moyes regrets not holding out for a potential offer closer to £150 million.
Comparing Rice’s impact to that of other players sold for substantial sums, Moyes maintains that the midfielder’s influence on the team outweighs that of his counterparts. West Ham’s defensive woes persist, with the team conceding in every game since their clash against Brighton on January 2nd.
Moyes, who’s known for crafting teams with strong defences, said: “It’s not nice. We work hard to make sure we’re defensively sound and I genuinely believe there’s no successful team that hasn’t got the best defence.
“Having that normally gives you a good chance of getting a result somewhere. At the moment we’re not as strong as we should be in some areas.
“We’ve hugely missed Declan Rice. I think Declan covered up a lot of things, was able to tidy things up and help us. He’s probably the best player in England at the moment, I would say.
“If you lose the best player in England out of your team, you’re going to be affected one way or the other – it doesn’t matter how good your signings have been and how well they’ve done. And by the way, a lot of things get talked about how much money we spend, but nobody talks about how much money we’ve taken in as well.
“Brighton have taken a lot of money in, but I think we’re probably right up there with the biggest ones that take money in as well.
“I always said, and I think everyone laughed, that Dec should have been £150million. Other players have been sold for close to that price and I don’t think they’ve touched Declan’s level of performance. The other thing is Declan is English, an England international, and he’s 25 now so he’s still got another six or seven years of his best years still to come.
