David Moyes says West Ham United captain Declan Rice is not going anywhere during the January transfer window. After West Ham’s 1-0 FA Cup win over Brentford on Saturday, the Scotsman was asked whether he was tempted to rest Rice for the contest, especially during a time when there is a lot of transfer talk surrounding his future. In response, Moyes made an emphatic statement, as well as saying he harbours strong desire to win the competition and to do that he needs the England star in his team.
David Moyes said: “The transfer bit, I’m sure you can put away because that won’t be happening in January, that’s for sure, and it never was. What I will say is I would have loved to have thought we could have wrapped Declan [Rice] up and given him time (off) but overall, he’s such a huge influence and also the level of the game. Maybe if we’d drawn a lower-league team… mind you, I tried that last year at Kidderminster and I needed to bring Dec on to score me the goal to get through! I’ve got to say, he’s such an important player, it’s hard to go without him, but we’ve always tried to give Dec a good recovery time. I’d like to win the FA Cup if it’s possible and for me to have the best chance of doing that, I probably need to play Declan Rice.”
Tottenham boss Antonio Conte rarely gives striker Harry Kane a break as he is so important to their chances of success. The England forward took his goalscoring tally to 17 in all competitions this season with the winner in their 1-0 win against Portsmouth in the FA Cup on Saturday. And Moyes says it is a similar story for Rice. The former Everton boss said the midfielder is always asking to play, rather than having cameo displays off the bench, even when he has played a lot of minutes.
David Moyes said: “Dec [Rice] is exactly the same [as Harry Kane]. He wants to play all the games. He’s whispering in my ear, ‘Am I playing in Europe?’ I’m saying, ‘I’m thinking about not playing you’. And he’s saying, ‘Well I’d rather start’. Maybe I was thinking of giving him 20 minutes, 30 minutes, but he wants to play. Even today, he drives the team on, winning the tackle which gives Said [Benrahma] the chance which he finishes brilliantly well. Before the World Cup, Tottenham played Harry Kane in a League Cup game (2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest) and there were some qualms about it. You’re always trying to do the best you can for the players and give them rest and time for themselves.”
