Declan Rice has returned to training this week and an encouraging update has emerged on his West Ham future...

What's the word?

The 22-year-old England international has reportedly turned down two contract offers from the Irons' hierarchy in recent months and according to the Telegraph, he is expected to reject further attempts as he waits to see if interest from Manchester United or Chelsea leads to anything more serious in terms of a transfer.

However, with the midfielder finally back at Rush Green after a post-Euro 2020 break, it seems that he is very committed to his boyhood club, as revealed by journalist Matt Law.

"Update on Declan Rice who has returned to pre-season training at West Ham. Current situation, despite turning down two contract offers, is it looks like he will start the season in East London - and he will keep giving his all," he tweeted.

It's thought that, despite interest from the two aforementioned Premier League giants, Rice is preparing for the new season as the Hammers' vice-captain.

Moyes' major boost

Even though the Irons' £100m valuation of Rice has put off many interested parties, it appears that Rice isn't forcing an exit at the London Stadium and that'll come as a massive boost to David Moyes and the fanbase.

Rice is a captain-in-waiting, with West Ham legend Mark Noble due to retire at the end of the season, and that emphasises just how crucial a presence he is in this squad.

WhoScored ranked the £63m-rated powerhouse as Moyes' fourth-best player in 2020/21 as they secured a spot in the Europa League. Rice topped the charts for interceptions per game (1.8), proving to be a very hard man to bypass in the engine room, whilst he wasn't far behind for tackles per game (1.8) either.

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His rising influence is further seen by the fact that he averaged more passes per game (47.7) than any other Hammers player, meaning most of their play runs through him at some point and it's even more impressive that he did so with a team-high 88% accuracy.

At one stage last season, the Hammers' European dreams looked to be over as they struggled in the absence of Rice.

With the 22-year-old on the treatment table, the East Londoners lost three of four matches before he returned to see out the final three games unbeaten. Again, that merely shows his importance to Moyes as a key cog to their recent success.

Therefore, this latest update from Law is going to hand the 58-year-old one huge boost heading into the new season, which begins in less than two weeks.

For now, it seems like Rice is a West Ham player for the foreseeable future, and that gives them every chance of repeating last season's success.

AND in other news, Moyes masterclass: West Ham keen on mouthwatering swoop for "dangerous" £18m-rated gem...