Premier League

Moyes raves about Rice

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David Moyes heaped praise on West Ham midfielder Declan Rice and shared he was always confident that the player would do good things in his career.

The Hammers boss who worked with the 20-year-old at the London Stadium last season shared that he thought the enforcer was having an exceptional year and was playing as well as any midfielder in the country.

Moyes backed Rice to be selected for the next England squad but cheekily claimed that he hoped the player was Scottish upon first seeing him in action.

“Well I was hoping he was Scottish rather Irish or English to be honest but look Declan has a terrific attitude was always going to do good things in his career no matter what but I have to say he has been exceptional this year,” said Moyes on BBC Radio 5 Live (19:44, Tuesday March 5th).

“I do believe watching a lot of football that he is playing as well as any midfield player in the country at this moment in time, I think he will probably will be selected for the next England squad and that’s not just because he has come from Ireland but because of his form.”

OPINION

Moyes spoke fondly of Rice which is testament to the 20-year-old’s character though he seemed a little surprise just how well he had done this season. While the experienced manager clearly knew Rice had talent from working with him, it’s fair to say how easy the 20-year-old has made moving into midfield look has caught him off guard. However last season the Hammers’ defence was extremely leaky and if Moyes had opted to use Rice anywhere else on the field instead of at centre-back, then his side would have likely shipped more goals. Manuel Pellegrini welcomed Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena to the club in the summer and those two recruits allowed him to experiment with Rice as a holding midfielder. It’s fair to say the 20-year-old deserves an England call-up and hopefully he gets one, as it could help improve him even further. While Rice’s decision to switch from the Republic of Ireland to England did raise a lot of eyebrows, you do feel it was a smart move for his career.

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