The tactics portal “Coaches Voice” compares Rice to N’Golo Kanté and refers to the common gift of recognizing danger early on, covering a large part of the lawn, leading many duels and intercepting balls. Like Kanté, Rice combines defensive and offensive strengths.
West Ham’s captain is good at switching movements and can break through opposition lines with his runs. “You could argue that he’s the best defensive midfielder in the country and the best thing about Declan is that he’s only going to get better”coach Moyes said two years ago.
How long in the jersey of the “Hammers”?
However, this is also a problem for West Ham, because there is always the question of how long the club can keep him. International class defensive midfielders are a rare breed, particularly those with experience at a young age.
In addition to his leadership role in the Premier League, Rice can also boast last year’s European Championship, where he started every England game, including the final against Italy. Basically since his breakthrough at West Ham there has been speculation about a move to a bigger club. There are enough people who are supposedly interested, including Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.
‘On’ in the dressing room for Chelsea’s Champions League win
Rice has a special relationship with Chelsea. He was a fan of the club as a child and played in its youth team. At the age of 14, the club let him go and Rice joined West Ham’s academy. The contacts to his fellow players from back then still exist.
Mason Mount, now one of the key players in Chelsea’s squad, is his best friend. After coach Thomas Tuchel’s team won the Champions League final against Manchester City last year (1-0), Mount is said to have video-called Rice from the dressing room.
Pattern pro Declan Rice
West Ham’s captain is regarded as a model professional, as someone who is not distracted by external noise. But he also has ambitions. According to the English media, he has just rejected the third offer to extend his contract, which is valid until 2024. That’s why there could be a poker game about Rice this summer like there was about Harry Klane a year ago.
In the end, he had to settle for staying at Tottenham Hotspur because Manchester City were unwilling to pay the allegedly requested £150m (almost €180m) for Kane.
Transfer unlikely in summer
Those interested would have to bid at least this amount for Rice, as coach Moyes recently announced, but also made it clear that these would be hypothetical considerations: “He’s not for sale.” At least not this summer.
West Ham seems more likely to let their captain go in the coming year. Rice will then have his first World Cup with England behind him, which could increase his value even more. He may have had his first beer then.