By Dave Langton
West Ham may be are crossing their fingers that England have a deep run into the Qatar World Cup, with Declan Rice at the heart of the midfield.
The Hammers feel that a strong showing from the Three Lions and Declan could inflate his value even further ahead of the summer transfer window.
Declan agreed to stay for one more season last summer before exploring the options available to him in the summer.
There is likely to be interest from Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City, and the Hammers are accepting of the situation, provided their asking price is met.
That would be in excess of £100m but a run to the World Cup semi-finals or final, with Rice playing a key role, could add as much as £20m to £30m to the fee needed to prise Declan away.
The Irons would, naturally, like to sell Rice abroad if they had to, thus avoiding strengthening a domestic rival, and the eyes of the world will be on the tournament in Qatar.
With Rice in the side, England reached the Euro 2020 final but were beaten by Italy on penalties.