Declan Rice has reacted to the speculation surrounding his future and says he is blocking out the ‘noise’ ahead of West Ham’s Europa Conference League final. The England international is set to leave east London this summer and is one of the most in-demand players in the world, with Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea all interested in signing him. It has even been claimed in Germany that he has spoken to Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel about a potential switch to Bavaria.
However, Rice insists his sole focus is on securing a European trophy with West Ham and not on the speculation. When asked if winning in Prague next week would be the perfect way to sign off, Rice replied: ‘I’ve not really focused on any of that, to be honest. My main focus this season, from the World Cup onwards, has been getting us out of a relegation battle and, of course, having one eye on winning this trophy. Everything else is just noise and speculation. Obviously, I can’t help that, it comes with playing. But my main focus is playing for West Ham and winning this final. My heart’s set on that, doing it for the club, for my family, for the fans and that’s my only focus. I want to make them all very happy and my focus is on doing that.’
He added: ‘I think all of us have dreamed about it, obviously with the journey we’ve been on. We’re one game away from lifting something for West Ham, which would go down in history. I don’t think about those things too much because I’ve been in finals before and obviously lost, the highs and lows of the game are really minimal. But I think we’re all dreaming, the fans are all dreaming, and I think we have a right to but it’s down to us to get it done.’
