Rice in line for one grand final farewell with Hammers

Midfielder will leave in the summer with club’s best wishes, especially if they win their first European trophy for 58 years

PARTING GIFT? West Ham United's Declan Rice during a training session at the Strahov Training Centre, Prague.

Around West Ham, there is zero bitterness at the thought of their most cherished talent moving on this summer. They have been crucial to Declan Rice’s progression into one of the best midfielders in the world, giving him a chance after he made a tearful exit from Chelsea at the age of 14, but the clock has been ticking all season. The mood is one of acceptance rather than anger and if there is regret it has to end this way any pain will surely float away if Rice’s final game for West Ham brings them their first major trophy for 43 years.

There are ways to say goodbye to the club that made you. The exit beckons, but so does immortality in the East End. So does the chance to follow in the footsteps of the great Bobby Moore, the only player to captain West Ham to a European trophy.