West Ham captain Declan Rice is refusing to sign a new deal in order to keep “open” the possibility of a transfer away from the London Stadium, according to the Daily Star reporter Paul Brown.

The journalist says there is little to no chance of the England international putting pen to paper on a contract extension as he doesn’t want to damage his chances of moving teams:

“I don’t think there is anyone pushing that hard at the moment to sign Declan Rice, but I think he’s trying to keep his options open and won’t be signing any contracts that tie him to the club and knock down a move in the near future.”

It is not a surprising claim made by Brown but it does provide confirmation of what many supporters have assumed about talks between Rice and the club. It appears that no matter how much West Ham offer, the player is likely to reject the proposal.

A sale at the end of the season does seem increasingly likely at this stage, with Liverpool having reportedly joined the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester City in the race for the 23-year-old’s signature in recent weeks.

With Rice effectively still having two years left on his contract at the end of the season, though, the Irons will be keen to hold out for a sizeable fee. A price tag of around £120m is believed to have been slapped on the midfielder.