West Ham star Declan Rice has been talked up as a “future England captain” in a glowing column praising him.
Times writer Henry Winter is clearly a huge fan of Rice, who is having a superb season for club and country, attracting strong transfer interest from Manchester United in the process.
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Hammers fans will no doubt hope to keep Rice for as long as possible, and it’s exciting to see a big-name journalist like Winter heaping such praise onto him.
“Declan Rice is only 22, only 14 games into an England career, and is already talking like one of the team’s leaders,” Winter wrote.
“Future England captain? The debate begins. The armband belongs to Harry Kane, only 27, for the next few years, with assistance from Harry Maguire, 28, and Raheem Sterling, 26.
“Longer term, especially as he looks increasingly established in the side, Rice possesses all the qualities admired by Southgate and the image-conscious FA.”
Unfortunately for West Ham, attention like this is only bound to see interest from big names Man Utd and Chelsea grow in the weeks and months ahead.
Still, it’s increasingly clear the east Londoners have a truly special player on their hands.