West Ham United captain Mark Noble has claimed that Hammers starlet Declan Rice is the best young midfielder in the Premier League.
The 20-year-old has made huge strides this season, so much so that he is now in England contention after picking the Three Lions over the Republic of Ireland. Noble also feels that Rice made the right call there.
“He and I have discussed the situation a few times and my view is that he is 20 years old — he has 15 years of his playing career ahead of him hopefully — and I believe he’s made the right decision,” he wrote in his Evening Standard column.
“Now he’s decided, I think he has to be in Gareth Southgate’s next squad. For me, there is no better young player in the Premier League, performing week in and week out in that midfield position. If Declan continues to progress the way he is doing, I think he will be in the England squad for years to come.”
OPINION
This is a big statement from Noble, but it might be an accurate one. Rice has come on leaps and bounds this campaign and is clearly one of the finest young talents in the Premier League. He has been a weekly starter throughout this term and has been Manuel Pellegrini’s most trusted general in central midfield. When you think of young central midfielders playing regularly in the top flight, there aren’t many others who play in the holding midfield sort of role that Rice occupies. There are players like Dele Alli, Lewis Cook and David Brooks but they all tend to play further forward than the Hammer starlet. So when you look at it like that, there probably is no finer young central midfield talent in the Premier League than Rice. He is a wonderful player and he’s going to keep getting better from here on out. He should certainly be involved in the next England squad because his performances this season certainly merit a place with the Three Lions.