Hammers pour cold water over Rice loan claims

Manuel Pellegrini’s boast that he was responsible for ensuring that Declan Rice remained at West Ham rather than being allowed out on loan seems a long way wide of the mark.

ClaretandHugh has learned from its own insiders that there was never any question of the club’s prize asset being allowed out and that t here was never any inquiry for him.

Pellegrini declared that he may have had more faith in the player as a defensive midfielder than the club whom he claims may have been ready to loan him out as a central defender.

But we were told those claims simply weren’t real and that it was clear from an early age that Declan was going to do his developing at the club rather than outside of it.

Pellegrini’s decision to employ Mario Husillos as his director of football was shown to be his biggest error of all and his new club Real Betis blocked his hopes of taking him with him to the Spanish club following the disastrous purchases at West Ham