Danny Higginbotham has claimed that West Ham could soon receive calls from the huge clubs in the division when it comes to Declan Rice.
The Sky Sports pundit raved about the 20-year-old’s ability and suggested that Premier League giants Manchester City could be a team that checks out Rice, saying he’s good enough to replace Fernandinho in their team.
Higginbotham also added that he thought it was brilliant that Rice was currently at West Ham as well as stating that it was good news from an England perspective that he has chosen to represent them at international level.
“He is a player who West Ham will want to keep, but it’s not going to be long until one of the huge clubs come knocking,… I’m not saying it is going to happen but look at Manchester City, could he be a Fernandinho replacement?” stated Higginbotham on Sky Sports News (11:35am, Thursday February 21st).
“You know you would think that he could be as he is that good of a player, he is intelligent, he is way above his years and it’s absolutely brilliant that he is at West Ham and for the English, the English people, that his allegiances are for England now as he could be a top player in years to come.”
OPINION
It’s no surprise that Higginbotham is raving about Rice as the West Ham man has been consistently good this season. Manuel Pellegrini made a genius move to utilise the 20-year-old in his midfield this season instead of playing him as a centre-back, and it has made the Hammers look strong in the middle of the park. While the Sky pundit makes a worrying prediction about Rice (as far as West Ham fans are concerned), it shouldn’t cause Hammers fans to have sleepless nights. Rice penned a new long-term contract at the tail-end of 2018 and unless there is a ridiculously huge offer tabled by an interested party, it’s hard to imagine him packing his bags anytime soon. This is especially the case when you consider that everyone at West Ham will likely know how important Rice is to the potential future success of the club. Obviously if Man City come calling and they do believe he could be the next Fernandinho… that could be a different matter.