Declan Rice ‘extremely happy’ at West Ham despite Chelsea FC transfer interest

Alan Irvine insists Declan Rice is happy at West Ham and not distracted by continued transfer links with Chelsea.

Frank Lampard is a keen admirer of the versatile England midfielder, though West Ham are adamant that the 21-year-old will not be sold.

Speaking in July, West Ham boss David Moyes said that it would cost Chelsea ‘Bank of England money’ if they wanted to bring Rice back to West London, having released the player as a 14-year-old.

Rice took on the captain's armband for Sunday night's 4-0 win over Wolves with usual skipper Mark Noble on the bench.

"Declan is extremely happy," said Hammers assistant Irvine.

"He was captain today, he is not somebody with other things on his mind."

On potential new arrivals, Irvine added: "Every manager wants to strengthen and David [Moyes] is no exception. But you need to strengthen, they can't just be players for the sake of it.

"All the players and staff have been fantastic. Declan is extremely happy here and is an important player for us."