West Ham Plan Raid for Championship Talent Amid Fears of Declan Rice Departure
By Josh Sim
West Ham United manager David Moyes is planning on establishing a young British core at the London Stadium and will turn to the Championship in order to find potential signings.
With the future of this season thrown in doubt by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the 56-year-old has begun to plan for the following season, making it clear that he wants young, hungry and talented players to be an integral part of his team going forward.
The £22m signing of Jarrod Bowen from Hull City has been viewed as a success for the Scot, who wants to find similar talent who will also succeed at the highest level.
And according to the Daily Star, Moyes will again scour the Championship to find new signings that will form a key component to his team for future seasons.
The former Everton manager is also looking to give regular game time to the trio of Grady Diangana, Josh Cullen and the currently sidelined Jack Wilshere - all three being players he believes he can get the best out of, and that can be part of a successful Hammers team.
Diangana is currently on loan at West Brom and had scored five times and racked up six assists before getting injured. Meanwhile, Cullen has played regularly and impressed for Lee Bowyer's Charlton in the midfield. And as for Wilshere, he was hailed as a major English talent as a teenager, but an unlucky run of injuries have hampered his progression significantly.
His plans come amid claims by the Daily Star, that there are growing concerns among West Ham officials that star midfielder Declan Rice will have to be sold eventually.
Manchester United have held interest in the England international for quite some time, and Moyes admitted earlier this season that the club may need to cash in on the 21-year-old.
As quoted by the Express, he said: “In my mind he is arguably the best holding midfield player in the country and the best thing about Declan is he will get better. Declan is carrying a lot of the team at the moment and he’s the one who will carry on from Mark Noble when it comes to an end for him.
“Quite often when building a club you have to sell. I hope it’s not the case with Declan but I said the same with Wayne Rooney and Joleon Lescott [at Everton].
"But the team got better because we were able to sign the right players to replace them. If that ever came around [Rice leaving] I’d hope we’d be able to do the same here as well."
Given that the Hammers sit 16th in the Premier League table, it says a lot about the confidence of the Scot to start planning ahead for the following season, carrying the assumption his team will play top-flight football next season.