**Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice has confirmed that he was nearly released by West Ham at the age of 16.**
The Hammers had a decision to make on whether to hand Rice a scholarship, and he told Thierry Henry that he only secured his future after performing well in a make-or-break match:
“My journey was crazy. I started off at Chelsea, and then I was released there at 14. I went to West Ham, and that story is even crazier because West Ham were going to release me, and no one knows about that…”
“West Ham were going to, at 16, there were question marks over that, there was a final decision, I played in a gam,e and I played really well and they gave me my scholarship.”
Rice made his name at the London Stadium
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Having avoided what would have been a disastrous mistake, the Hammers helped the midfielder develop his game before he was handed his senior debut against Burnley in May 2017.
[**Rice**](https://hammersheadlines.com/west-ham-news-declan-rice-arsenal/) would go on to make 245 appearances for the club, as well as being given the captain’s armband, before helping the team win the Europa Conference League title during the 2022/23 season.
Just a couple of months later, the England international was sold for a club record £105m to Arsenal.
Moyes still believes West Ham should have held out for more
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While £105m makes Rice the second most expensive English player in football history (behind Jude Bellingham), David Moyes feels the club could have raised more from his sale. Speaking in 2024, the ex-Irons boss said:
“I always said, and I think everyone laughed, that he should be £150m. I think other players have been sold for close to his price, and I don’t think they’ve touched Declan’s level of performance.”
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