West Ham United manager David Moyes has heaped huge praise onto Declan Rice following his world class form this season.
The 23-year-old is establishing himself as one of the top young talents in world football, and is surely already up there with Europe’s best midfield players right now.
Rice’s form has seen him linked with Manchester United by the Athletic, as well as with former club Chelsea in another report from the Athletic.
It’s clear that Moyes rates Rice very highly, and West Ham will not be letting the England international leave on the cheap any time soon, with the Hammers boss making the big claim that he thinks the youngster is a future England captain in the making.
“Yeah. I think I’ve said everything there is to say about Declan. He’s a really important player for West Ham, he’s someone who we value greatly and you can see what he means to the team,” Moyes is quoted by the Metro.
“He’s a really good individual and we’re enjoying having him.
“He should look at Harry Kane and Harry Maguire and all of those senior players he’s involved with for England, and take as much from them as he can, because in the future I’ve got no doubt he’s got a great chance of going on to be a future England captain.
“We’re really pleased to have him and he’s an impressive young man.”
While this might be intended to warn off the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea, one imagines it will leave those clubs’ fans wanting the signing of Rice even more.
Rice would be a fine signing to give United an upgrade on the likes of Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic in midfield, while Chelsea could perhaps also benefit from bringing in a long-term successor to N’Golo Kante.