West Ham rising star Declan Rice is already a better player than Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier, according to Tony Cascarino.
The Sky Sports Daily pundit raved about the 19-year-old following his performance for the Hammers in their 2-1 Premier League win against Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium on Thursday night.
Rice played the full 90 minutes in central midfield as a Felipe Anderson double lifted the home side to ninth in the league table.
“Rice is only 19 but he looks like a veteran of 300 league appearances. He is so composed, a master of simplicity who sits in front of the back four and refuses to give the ball away,” Cascarino told the Times.
“The West Ham midfielder was impeccable in the first half, making two or three crucial interceptions, grabbing possession and then moving it on quickly. I think he is better than Eric Dier, who does a similar job for Tottenham Hotspur and England.
“It is no wonder that Rice has been chased by England as well as Ireland and bigger clubs will be looking at him, too. He is already such a huge talent.”
OPINION
Midfield anchormen are some of the most difficult players to judge by fans in the Premier League. Given that their primary role is to spot danger, close down spaces, win the ball, intercept and give the ball to more offensive players, they are often the least sexy and heralded players in their sides. Jordan Henderson at Liverpool and Dier at Tottenham are two of the best examples. When they play, they are frequently criticised heavily, even by their own supporters. Rice has youth and novelty value on his side. Certainly, he is making a big impression for West Ham and has won over Manuel Pellegrini, who began the campaign by hauling him off at half-time in the opening-day defeat at Liverpool and benching him for the next three matches. Rice has subsequently started all 15 of West Ham’s league matches and been a key player in the team’s transformation into one with genuine hopes of a top-eight finish this season. He doesn’t yet have Dier’s battle-hardened pedigree, or international experience, but he is more mobile and technically gifted.