Liverpool contacted midfielder and his head has been turned - he wants £150,000-a-week

Declan Rice has had his head turned and wants to leave West Ham with a source close to the player saying he'd be willing to leave London "in pursuing a move to a bigger club."

Georginio Wijnaldum running down his contract and moving to Paris Saint-Germain for free has made it fairly obvious that Liverpool will need to sign a central midfielder this summer.

A host of names has been linked, with Youri Tielemans, Yves Bissouma, Florian Neuhaus and even John McGinn named as players the Reds are interested in signing and now West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice has been named as a person of interest.

I recently wrote that Jurgen Klopp would regret letting Thomas Tuchel sign Rice as he could be the perfect player to replace Jordan Henderson when he retires or as he gets older.

We've seen the former Sunderland star has been picking up injuries more frequently and even underwent surgery on a groin injury in late February.

Declan Rice head turned but wants £150,000-a-week

According to Dean Jones, writing in his Transfer Notebook for Eurosport, Champions League clubs Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea have all shown an interest in signing Declan Rice.

He is also reportedly willing to leave London to join the likes of Liverpool or one of the Manchester clubs.

Jones goes on to say that "sources close to the player believe his head has been turned and that he is interested in pursuing a move to a bigger club" but that the 22-year-old will demand £150,000-a-week.

This would be an issue as Liverpool's wage structure is such that new arrivals rarely earn as much as the club's top earners with Thiago Alcantara the exception. Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah are the highest-paid players at Anfield while Roberto Firmino, Thiago and Alisson closely follow.

Rice would go straight into that top bracket which could be an issue for the likes of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander who are key to the Liverpool starting XI but are both earning below the £100,000-a-week mark.

West Ham want £90million for Declan Rice this summer

As the Telegraph's Matt Law reported on the 22nd of May, West Ham will demand £90million for Declan Rice which would make him more expensive than Paul Pogba when Manchester United paid Juventus £89million for the Frenchman.

The Hammers have a contract with Rice until 2024 with the option to extend it until 2025 which means the club has all the power in this scenario and will make it very difficult for him to leave.

Dean Jones says Chelsea are the favourites - "partly because of links that already exist but also because they could meet the financial needs it would take to complete a deal."

Rice is a fantastic player. Combative, strong and a leader for both England and West Ham but £90m is an excessive amount for a player that wouldn't immediately start at Anfield and would only be needed in a few years' time.

The best course of action for Jurgen Klopp would be to wait and see if he stays at West Ham but with Jones saying his head has been turned by the thought of joining the likes of Liverpool, it's unlikely he will stay at the London Stadium for too much longer.