Having nearly but not quite committed to Ireland, West Ham starlet agrees deal until 2024

West Ham United have tied youngster Declan Rice to a long-term contract at the London Stadium.

The talented teenager turns 20 in January and has had his impressive performances rewarded with a new long-term contract with the club he joined as a 14-year-old schoolboy.

Since becoming a Hammer at a young age, the teenager has flourished under West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini, and formerly Slaven Bilic and David Moyes, eventually suprassing the 50 first-team appearance milestone in December.

Discussing his new long-term contract, the 19-year-old said:

“Without a doubt, the plan was always to stay at West Ham. I’ve had the support from the fans, from the players and from the manager and now, to get it done and commit myself to this Club is a very special moment and I’m over the moon.

“I’ve now played 50 games for the first team and I’m progressing week-in, week-out, learning from a top manager and top players. I’m still young, so to put more years on my contract and keep developing here is the best thing for me to do now. With the support of the manager, the players, everyone, it was the right thing to do.”

Now his future has been sorted out, Rice can focus 100 per cent on helping the Hammers continue their rise up the Premier League standings, with European qualification a realistic target.

“Without a doubt, you’ve seen now the way we’ve played after the first four games, that’s what we’ve got to be aiming for, for those European spots. With the players we’ve got out injured to come back in, we’ve definitely got to be aiming high.

“We’ve got 60,000 fans now, with that being increased, we’ve got a top manager who has won a Premier League title and quality players in the squad, so there is no reason why we can’t be competing at the top, for sure.”

Rice joined the Hammers five-and-a-half years ago and has always indicated to the higher powers of his potential to perform at the highest stage. The 19-year-old led the Irons at schoolboy and youth-team level before being appointed captain of the under-23s while retaining his scholar status.

Rice was handed his first-team debut in the final game of the 2016-17 season after guiding the young Hammers to promotion and being named Young Hammer of the Year. The versatile youngster established his place in the first team in a variety of defensive and midfield capacities as is now continuing to flourish under Pellegrini after making his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in March 2018.

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