Sam Allardyce heaped praise on West Ham star Declan Rice as he said that he thought the performances the 20-year-old was putting in were brilliant.
The former Hammers manager said it was a bit of magic on Manuel Pellegrini’s part to move Rice from defence into midfield and pointed out no one was moaning about that decision now.
“There’s a bit of magic here about moving Declan Rice to midfield here because Pellegrini would get some stick in beginning as they’d be asking what you doing playing a centre-half in midfield and I don’t think anyone is moaning now,” said Allardyce on talkSPORT (Tuesday February, 6:41am).
“The performances he is putting in y’know what I mean, brilliant!”
Allardyce was then told by talkSPORT broadcaster Ian Abrahams, better known as Moose, that many at the club think Rice is better in defence than in midfield.
This prompted Allardyce to cheekily claim that if Rice is better as a centre-back than as a midfielder than he is worth £300million.
“Well if he is better at centre-half than he is in midfield than he is worth £300million, maybe people are just looking at the fact he was brought up as a centre-half rather than his performances in midfield as they’re getting better and better for me, and that’s a great sign for West Ham,” responded the former Hammers manager.
OPINION
Allardyce was on top-form when delivering his verdict on Rice and while he was cheeky about the player being worth £300million, given the way the transfer market is going then who knows in a few years, that might be the price tag around the 20-year-old’s neck. Rice has been fantastic this season and has been a real asset for Pellegrini’s side. The 20-year-old has been wowing as a defensive midfielder and considering that it isn’t believed to be his natural position, then it’s easy to see why Allardyce has been blown away by the talented player’s display this season. Rice was in fine form against Liverpool on Monday night when the Hammers drew 1-1 with them, and you feel he is destined for the top if he continues making rapid progress like he is. Given that Rice is on a long-term contract, having signed one at the tail-end of 2018, you feel the Hammers can be confident about holding on to him. However you would expect big sides across Europe to try their luck when it comes to getting him, due to his ability.