West Ham United still to pick captain after Declan Rice exit

West Ham United boss David Moyes admits they are no closer to naming a new captain following Declan Rice’s record transfer to Arsenal.

Rice’s £105million move to the Gunners was confirmed at the weekend, after the rest of the Hammers squad had jetted off to Australia for a two-game tour.

Having beaten A-League side Perth Glory 6-2 on Saturday, Moyes’ men meet Premier League rivals Tottenham on Tuesday and the manager said they are still considering who will take the armband moving forwards.

“We’re not that much further forward [in choosing a new captain following Declan Rice’s departure] as it’s only just happened a day or so ago, so we’ve got time to think about about it. That’ll be decided from myself,” Moyes told whufc.com.

“Players come and go from all clubs, not just our club, and I’ve had it before, so you find a new way of preparing and getting things done and we will do, but it only got done on Saturday so it’s very quick that’s happened, really.

“I think a captain is hugely important. I’ve had some great boys who have captained my teams over the years. 

“Mark Noble was exceptional here at West Ham and Phil Neville was exceptional for me at Everton. Declan was great in the short period he was my captain here at West Ham.

“So, we’ll look closely to see what’s the right choice and we’ve got a bit of time before the season starts before we have to make a decision on that.”

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou is now facing up to the prospect of losing captain and club record goalscorer Harry Kane, with Bayern Munich confident of signing England’s all-time leading marksman.

But Moyes backed his opposite number to cope with the pressure, ahead of their latest head-to-head meeting on the touchline this week.

“Ange will never get more pressure than he did when managing Celtic Football Club,” added Moyes.

“Celtic are probably the third or fourth-best supported club in the world, and if you’ve managed Celtic you’re used to pressure, so he’ll have no problem [managing Tottenham in the Premier League].

“I was talking about how much did he enjoy Glasgow because I’m from Glasgow and he had to live there as an Aussie, and him moving to London and had he settled or found a home yet.

“I was fortunate enough to manage against him in Melbourne with Manchester United a long time ago and we played Celtic a couple of years ago in a pre-season friendly, so it was good to catch up with him.

“He had great things to say about Glasgow – you should all think about going!”

West Ham return to the UK later this week and are due to send a side to National League outfit Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday (July 22, 3pm).