Niall Quinn heaped praise on West Ham defender Declan Rice after watching him play for the Republic of Ireland against Turkey.
The 19-year-old was making his international debut during the 1-0 defeat to Turkey last Thursday, and despite being on the losing side, Quinn was blown away by the teenager’s performance.
“It is very hard to say now but the way the game has gone, it is a real gift to have a player who can defend and play football,” Quinn stated, as quoted by The Irish Sun.
“How far is he away from John Stones, for instance, who was transferred for £50million?
“For me, he can already do a lot of what John Stones can do, where in an Irish jersey does that put him?
“I think there is a flexibility there that we have not had since Paul McGrath was around.
“We used to wait for Jack Charlton to see where he was going to play Paul this week and you knew it was going to be fine.
“Rice looks the part, he moves well, his feet are good, his positioning is very good off the ball. And he is not afraid to get stuck in.”
Rice has made 24 appearances for the Hammers this season, with 18 of those being made in the Premier League.
The teenager is thought to have a bright future at the London Stadium and is contracted to the Hammers until 2019.
OPINION
Quinn has really heaped the praise on Rice by comparing him to Stones. Manchester City paid Everton £47.5million upfront for Stones in 2016, according to Sky Sports, with him eventually costing them £50million if he triggers certain add-ons. While the England international is struggling to feature for the league leaders currently, for Rice to be compared to him is an honour. The 19-year-old is still getting to grips with life in the Premier League, but has impressed in the majority of his outings during this campaign. Rice was superb for his nation in their game against Turkey last Thursday and David Moyes will hope he can put in a similar display on Saturday, when the Hammers play Southampton.