West Ham United have officially confirmed they have reached an agreement for midfielder and captain Declan Rice to move to Arsenal for a British record transfer fee.
A statement on their official club website announced: “West Ham United can confirm that agreement has been reached for Declan Rice to leave the Club for a British record transfer fee,” adding: “The 24-year-old England midfielder leaves the Hammers having made a total of 245 senior appearances for the Club – the last of which finished in glory as he lifted the Uefa Europa Conference League trophy in Prague to end our 43-year wait for a major honour.”
West Ham manager David Moyes added: “I’d like to personally thank Declan for everything he has done during his time at West Ham United. Obviously, it is sad when we say goodbye to someone who has been with us for so long but we must now look forward.
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“West Ham United is a huge Club and, as history shows, no player is ever bigger than the Club. Our entire focus now is on building upon the success we enjoyed last season, adding to our talented Uefa Europa Conference League title-winning squad as we enter our third consecutive season in Europe, and continuing to develop the best young talent through our successful Academy.”
Having progressed from the Academy of Football at Chadwell Heath, where he began his Claret and Blue journey as a 14-year-old in 2013 before making his first-team debut against Burnley in May 2017, the Kingston-born midfielder has established himself as one of the greatest young talents in world football.
Winner of the Hammer of the Year award three times, in 2020, 2022, and 2023, and runner-up in 2018 and 2019, Declan made his full England debut in March 2019 and has since gone on to win 43 caps. He was named West Ham United Club captain in the summer of 2022 following the retirement of Mark Noble and enjoyed a triumphant final season as Moyes’s team secured only the second major European trophy in the Club’s history.