By Noel Whelan

3rd Feb, 2023 | 3:00pm

West Ham 'laying the groundwork' for 'huge-money' overhaul after source's update - pundit

Noel Whelan has insisted West Ham must now “lay the groundwork” in order to replace key men Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice after their patchy transfer business last summer.

The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, insisted the Irons will have a “huge pot” to spend but urged caution after the hit-and-miss summer arrivals of Gianluca Scamacca and Lucas Paqueta.

Sources told this site on 30 January that West Ham will not stand in the way of Rice joining a Champions League giant in the summer if their asking price is met – as Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City and Man United monitor his situation.

The Irons captain has rejected a number of offers to renew his contract at the London Stadium and will have 12 months on his deal at the end of this season.

Rice was once valued at £150million by David Moyes following an impressive run of form which saw West Ham achieve European qualification in back-to-back seasons.

Fellow midfielder Soucek has been the subject of criticism as he struggles to re-capture his early Irons form.

West Ham sit 16th in the Premier League – just a point above the drop zone.

Whelan told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “The only good thing is they’ll likely have a huge amount of money to add two midfielders to replace Rice and Soucek.

“Declan Rice is going somewhere, so they’ll have a big pot to spend.

“With that money, I’m sure they’ll already be working behind the scenes to think about their plans going forward.

“They’ve got to lay the groundwork now because Rice and Soucek are two massive characters at this football club.

“They’ve got to get these signings right because a number of their signings this season haven’t quite worked out so far.”

In other news, Football Insider updates with new West Ham takeover details as March cut-off looms.