So, Declan Rice finally leaves West Ham go to fellow Premier League club Arsenal for £105million. He’s talented, but is he worth that huge sum?
My fear is that Rice (with the likes of Jude Bellingham, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Mason Mount) may suffer under the weight of public expectation, and ultimately fail to live up to, what critics say, the self-perceived hype. English players are being bought and sold for huge amounts because so little local talent coming through. Among the experienced players, the likes of Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden don’t always start games regularly for their first teams as their foreign counterparts have often being given the nod. Unless proper action is taken by both clubs and the Football Association to address this situation, the real fear is that in the future, there may not be any English players in their squads… and that in turn could have serious long-term consequences for the national team.