You know it’s the international break when stories linking Manchester United with Declan Rice start surfacing almost every day with denials from the player quickly following.

Virtually every media outlet has been playing copycat on the same story day in day out given that the player has repeated probably a dozen times he’s going nowhere.

However, as a result of the constant rumours and denials we went to our top source at the club in a bid to sort the issue out once and for all from their perspective.

And this afternoon we were told categorically that at no stage since the speculation started has there been either an inquiry or a bid.

We were told a few minutes ago by e mail in response to the straightforward question: ‘Have there been any bids or inquiries’ that there had never been an approach from United at either level.

We were told by e mail:”Obviously we are aware of all that’s been said and written but the honest answer is that there has been nothing from Manchester United at all or anywhere else.

“There were murmurings among agents back in the summer but it was never going anywhere. It won’t now either because he’s not for sale, is under contract for five years and we refuse to put a valuation on him for those reasons.”

Kevin Keen knows the Hammers better than most after 10 years as a player and five as a coach.

He’s one of an elite band who is claret and blue to his backbone and has witnessed many changes at the club since his playing days which started in 1983.

The former midfielder played 219 games  before he returned back to the club in 2006 as a coach, spending five years before leaving for Liverpool.

Now he’s back and has seen the massive changes that have taken place at the club since the days of portakabins at Chadwell Heath – now replaced by a state of the art training centre opened by Sir Trevor Brooking.

The massively upgraded training facility has left an impression on Keen since he returned back to the Hammers in July and he is clearly glad to back at the club of which he has been such a part down the years looking after the under 18s with mark Phillips.

He told the official site @https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2019/october/16-october/kevin-keen-academy-football-facilities-are-fantastic: “It’s great to be back. It’s been fantastic to go back to Chadwell Heath and see the new training ground – I’d not been back here for seven years. There’ve been amazing changes – what facilities for the players to play on.

“It’s a completely different environment now. We had a lot of portakabins, and everyone was more or less on that site. All of a sudden, we’ve got an environment, a building, that’s just for the U18s and younger, and it’s absolutely amazing.”

“We’ve got representations of the history with people like Sir Trevor Brooking, Martin Peters and Alvin Martin – people who’ve played a lot of games through the Club having come through the Academy – on the walls, making sure the lads are aware of that, as well as the more recent ones like Mark Noble and Declan Rice.”

“The lads are there every day reminded of what it is to be a West Ham player, and Chadwell Heath has been transformed into just an amazing, up-to-date training facility that the lads need to make the most of.”

“As a coach, as a player, it was ingrained in me: to play in a West Ham way. As a coach, I coach that way. I learnt so much off John Lyall, Tony Carr, people who had a big effect on me as a coach, and I bring a lot of their ideas, a lot of their sessions, certainly their way of doing things to the Club.”

“I want to make sure that those boys who are under me and Mark Phillips (U18s Assistant Coach) get that training, get that understanding of playing forward, running forward, playing for the badge, playing for the team, being on the half-turn, little things that run through the West Ham philosophy. They’re really, really important.”

Everton are wheeling out the heavyweights as they bid to convince themselves the Hammers are there for the taking on Saturday lunchtime.

No problem with that of course as we all do it when our clubs are in trouble but it’s always a very obvious sign that a team is in a serious fix!

The recent run of defeats from the Toffees is well known and they of course need to be inspired by former heroes and none come much bigger in Goodison terms than first team coach Duncan Ferguson.

He rarely has much to say and that he is issuing rallying cries so far ahead of the game should be as much an encouragement to us as he hopes it will be for Marco Silva’s squad.

He wants the players the sort of unity required if they are to beat us at Goodison – something he obviously believes is possible.

Speaking ahead of the game he said of what boss Marco Silva has dubbed a “must win fixture” he said: “We’ve just got to make sure we can turn it around, I really believe that. I think we will prove that on Saturday.

“The spirit is still there – 100% definitely.Everybody’s behind the manager and we know that the fans will always be behind the club.

“We just need to turn the positivity that we’ve got around the place into victories, that’s what we’re looking to do.”

Brave words and no doubt at tomorrow’s presser Manuel Pellegrini will stress the need to respect the opposition as wounded beasts are always dangerous.

But if the Hammers are to be respected as the “big club” our manager regularly preaches this is a game from which we should ourselves capable of taking three points.

Cand H Exclusive

David Gold has revealed that he now travels away with the Hammers expecting to take something from most games which represents a mega change in mentality from a couple of years back.

With the Hammers on their way to Everton this weekend the club’s co chairman told Claret and Hugh exclusively: “I think it’s fair to say that the days of them being a bogey team are gone and I want to believe we can expect something from this match.”

Many fans will no doubt respond that Gold may be tempting fate but he added: “The squad are hurting after the Palace defeat and are determined to put things right up there.

“Yes, of course it’s a huge match for Everton and their manager Marco Silva. They didn’t spend over £100 million in the summer to be in the bottom three and yes, I know Andre Gomes, is likely to be back after injury for them.

“However, he may need a couple of games like most players to be seen at his best so again I travel to the north west with a lot of hope.”

He added: “There was a time when you went away hoping for a draw but now I do so expecting NOT to get beaten and that’s a massive change of mentality.”

I’ve seen the boys this week and there’s a real determination to put things right after Palace. It was very much a 50/50 game and defeat was a bitter disappointment. They are seriously up for putting things right.”

West Ham’s international players are returning from the break fit and available for Saturday’s match at Everton.

Andriy Yarmolenko, Arthur Masuaku, Fabian Balbuena along of course with Declan Rice suffered no problems on their travels and are available for selection according to club insiders.

Yarmo scored a cracking goal to continue his great club form when helping to put Ronaldo’s Portugal to the the sword whilst both Arthur and Balbuena – who played no part for Paraguay – return hoping to make some sort of impact at Everton.

That’s unlikely with Pelle likely to put out the same eleven who were beaten against Palace with Declan Rice – as reported earlier – recovering well from the virus which kept him out of England action against Bulgaria.

Meanwhile, former Hammers midfield target Andre Gomes looks set to start the game for the Toffees after missing recent Premier League defeats following defeats in the team’s last four League games.

Manuel Pellegrini’s hunt for a striker – probably on loan in January – will come as a blow to £8 million summer arrival Albian Ajeti.

The Swiss striker has had little or no chance to show what he’s about since agreeing a deal with the club in what appeared to be a like for like Chicharito decision.

That was a surprise in itself given the Mexican had made little impression in the team pattern adopted by Manuel Pellegrini who cashed in on the 31 year old when Sevilla moved in.

Two EFL Cup appearances at Newport and Oxford United do not suggest the 22 year old was seen as a Premier League first team player and should anything happen to Seb Haller ahead of a Michail Antonio’s return that becomes a worrying scenario.

The fee involved for Ajeti always suggested that unless Pellegrini knew something hidden from everybody else the player was unlikely to make an impact.

And when Mario Husillos explained after his arrival what he was indeed a box player – in the Chicharito mould – his arrival had question marks over it.

It comes as no surprise therefore to hear that the boss is still keen to bring in that second striker but will need to find a quality operator ready to play back up to Haller which may not be the easiest job in the world.

Declan Rice’s well being looks assured for the weekend following a virus scare which kept him out of the England trouncing of Bulgaria.

There had been early scares that he would be missing for the match at Goodison Park but word is that  he is recovering well and should there be no setbacks he will be fine for the match.

Sadly, however, the anxiety when the slightest thing affects the young man demonstrates the worries that still exist among many fans are well founded.

For should he become unavailable at any stage. it means presumably that either Jack Wilshere or Carlos Sanchez become the natural replacements.

And in an area of the squad where we are believed to be better off than any other that becomes a big concern and calls into question the manager’s “we have two players in every position”mantra.

That maybe the case but whether they are in fact good enough is quite another question. However, for now, we can simply be relieved that the defensive midfielder looks set for duty at Goodison Park.