West Ham United must have pocketed a whooping £105m selling Declan Rice to Arsenal but it appears they have yet to find his replacement, according to the club’s manager David Moyes.
An inconsistent Chelsea roasted the Hammers with a thumping 5-0 defeat in the London Derby to compound the visitor’s recent woes under the watch of David Moyes.
A brace from Nicolas Jackson and goals from Conor Gallagher, Noni Madueke, and Cole Palmer condemned the Europa Conference League champions to their biggest defeat this season.
The loss against Chelsea extended David Moyes’ winless run with the Hammers to six matches since their 2-1 Premier League win over Wolves on April 6.
When asked why his side lost heavily to the Blues, David Moyes the blamed the club’s decision to sell Declan Rice to Arsenal for a huge fee (£105m) without a replacement.
According to him, West Ham lack a replacement for a player in the class of Declan Rice, who can provide a good defensive cover to the team.
“We lost because of Declan Rice.
“When you’ve got the best midfield player in the country protecting, probably limiting 50 per cent of their attacks, it makes you a much better defensive team.
“We’ve lacked protection in front of the back four, lacked good enough defending, not been good enough at those things in many games,” he said.
Moyes’ comment could be seen as a subtle dig at West Ham’s transfer experts for failing to find a replacement for Rice. Futballnews understands the 61-year-old is facing an uncertain future at the club and has been embroiled in a behind-the-scene fallout with the club’s new technical director Tim Steidten.
His contract will expire at the end of the season with reports Tim Steidten wants him to leave this summer. Consequently, no new offer has been proposed with the former Man United boss set to draw the curtain on his seven-year spell with the club.
