Daily Star journalist Paul Brown has identified a potential issue that could stall Declan Rice's departure from West Ham.

What did Brown say about Rice?

Rice has been linked with a number of major clubs in recent months, having established himself as an England regular under Gareth Southgate.

However, Brown has noted that both Manchester clubs and Chelsea splashed the cash during this summer's transfer window, and that could cause them to be reluctant to spend big money on Rice in the near future.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “The problem he’s got is the clubs who genuinely like him, and have the money to buy him, your United, City and Chelsea we’re thinking about primarily, all spent lots of money this window, and some of them spent in positions that would conflict with where Declan might want to play.

“Chelsea brought in Saul Niguez, not the same sort of player, but again, someone who plays in midfield. He’s only on loan so they might rethink that if it all goes wrong. But still, I don’t see those three clubs at the moment coming up with the sort of money it would take to get Declan Rice out of West Ham. So, I think he’s safe where he is for the season.”

GIVEMESPORT giveaway

ENTER GIVEAWAY

How did Rice perform against Man United?

For some, West Ham's game against Manchester United on Sunday could have been considered an audition for Rice given that he may potentially move to Old Trafford at some point.

The 22-year-old was tidy in possession, completing 96.8% of his passes, and he managed to make two interceptions (via WhoScored). However, he failed to contribute a great deal in the final third, as he did not deliver a key pass or complete a successful dribble.

This led to him receiving a WhoScored game rating of 6.31, his lowest mark of the season so far.

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How much will Rice cost?

It has been reported that West Ham would want £100m before letting Rice leave. However, first-team coach Kevin Nolan recently revealed that he would not even let the holding midfielder depart for that figure, highlighting just how important he feels Rice is to the Irons right now.

If West Ham did push their asking price even higher, they would then be demanding a record-breaking transfer fee for a British player, surpassing the £100m that Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish earlier this summer.

Should that be the case, this may leave the best teams in the country thinking long and hard about whether they are willing to part with that sort of money to sign Rice or if they would be better off looking elsewhere.