West Ham told how to ensure £100m Man United target 'is not going anywhere'

And Carlton Cole believes 'no amount of money in the world' will take the midfielder away from the club.

The high-flying Hammers continued their Europa League adventure with a 2-0 win over Rapid Vienna on Thursday evening, a repeat of the result they achieved at Dinamo Zagreb a fortnight ago.

Last season's surprise sixth-placed finish has placed greater demands on the London club, leaving David Moyes with a tricky balancing act.

However, West Ham have so far coped impressively with the packed programme, with a narrow top-flight loss to Manchester United their only defeat of the campaign to date.

They avenged this defeat less than a week later, with more European and domestic success the priority for Moyes and his men.

Having kept Rice out of the clutches of both Chelsea and United, the Scot will be all too aware how in-demand the ambitious midfielder will be.

The England international, who has two goals from as many Europa League games, captains the club when Mark Noble does not play and Bent believes staying in Europe is the key to keeping the 22-year-old.

He said on Drive: "If they win the Europa League this year and they are in the Champions League next year, he won't go anywhere.

"What's his reason for going then? He's playing in the best competition in the world then.

"I think for the first season, once he has a taste of it, West Ham get into the Champions League and he does particularly well…

"I think people will come and get him, regardless of what happens, but that is his club - West Ham.

"He's the captain - I know Mark Noble is the captain - but it's him because he will play more.

"If they can somehow win the Europa League, they're in the Champions League next season, he's not going anywhere."

Rice reportedly has a £100million price tag, but former West Ham striker Cole believes the midfielder is priceless for the Hammers right now.

"I know there's a lot of teams looking at Declan and I think he's evolving into something more than just a CDM," Cole said.

"I don't think there's enough money in the world to take him away from West Ham at the moment."