West Ham coach David Moyes expressed his frustration over Declan Rice’s prolonged transfer to Arsenal, stating that he is unable to make any plans until the captain’s move is finalized.
Despite a £105 million agreement with Arsenal being reached 10 days ago, Rice remains a West Ham player on paper.
Rice will not be joining West Ham’s touring squad to Australia for pre-season matches against Perth Glory and Tottenham Hotspur. The Premier League season will begin in a month.
“Until it’s done we can’t plan anything really,” Moyes told reporters in Perth ahead of West Ham’s friendly against Perth Glory on Saturday.
“Everybody knows the situation. We are expecting something to happen.”
Moyes kept quiet about potential successors for Declan Rice, who had a significant role in West Ham’s victory in the Europa Conference League.
“I don’t think we can replace Declan exactly like for like, that is for sure,” he said.
“We will add to the squad. We won’t be giving any thoughts or any names or anything like that.”
In Perth, West Ham has a young squad for their first match since defeating Fiorentina in Europe, as Rice and other star players are not present.
“We’re still buzzing… there are fantastic memories that won’t fade away quickly. But we’ve also moved on and preparing for the next round of games,” said Moyes, whose job was under threat last season with West Ham near the Premier League’s relegation zone.”
“We don’t have all of our international players with us due to a late finish and international games so it’s a great opportunity for some young players and the players we have with us now.”
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