West Ham star says ‘quality’ Declan Rice ‘deserves’ Arsenal or Chelsea move over Newcastle United

West Ham striker Michail Antonio has spoken out about the transfer rumours swirling around Hammers midfielder Declan Rice and whether Newcastle United stand a chance of landing the England star.

Antonio was speaking on the BBC Sounds' Footballer's Football Podcast alongside Magpies man Callum Wilson and presenter Rickie Haywood-Williams.

On this week's show, the boys turned to talking about Rice's future after Wilson shared how impressed he was with the 24-year-old's performance against Newcastle at St. James' Park last weekend.

Wilson said: "Declan Rice was very good. Really good performance and player. I'm giving credit where it's due. Without Dec, you boys would be in serious bother.

"He broke up second balls, was winning 50/50s in the middle of the pitch and carrying it forward. He helps you a lot, gives you the platform to build from."

Antonio agreed with Wilson about Rice's performance during the 1-1 draw on Saturday, but added that "you can't disregard the rest of the team".

The West Ham forward light-heartedly replied: "We have Paqueta controlling play in midfield, we controlled a lot of the play because you lot weren't up to scratch this weekend. Our back three, first three minutes you had opportunities and other than that not much more. Two one-on-ones but you couldn't do anything."

Read more - ‘Despicable’: Police forced to issue Newcastle United fan message ahead of Carabao Cup final

Antonio then moved on to Rice's future and admitted that he was a "quality player" who deserves a move to one of the country's most notorious clubs.

Despite Wilson's praise of his compatriot and the rumours linking Rice to a move to the North East, the Magpies didn't feature in any of the four clubs Antonio deemed suitable for his teammate's next steps.

He said: "He's been linked everywhere. Arsenal, Man City, Man United, Chelsea. He's a quality player and he deserves to be in one of those teams. He's going to be linked with anyone.

"It's whether it happens, he's got a year and a half or two years left on his contract. Anything could happen and he could end up anywhere as I think he could play in any of them teams."