West Ham defender Ryan Fredericks has savaged London rivals Chelsea after letting Declan Rice join the Hammers as he is left fuming by his teammates’ FIFA rating.
The central midfielder has emerged as one of the Irons’ top performers this season after moving from a defensive role into the middle of the park and looks to be on course for a call up for England after changing his international allegiances.
Having arrived in east London on a free from Stamford Bridge, Fredericks was left laughing at their loss, although was less impressed with how he had been rated by FIFA on their popular video game.
Speaking to West Ham TV, as quoted by the Sun, he said: “You were somewhere c*** before, weren’t you? Oh yeah, you got released (by Chelsea). Their loss, isn’t it? Now you’re top boy.
“Your (FIFA rating) was a big disrespect as well. Oh wow, 69 after a full season of Prem, bossing it, pocking all sorts. Interceptions got to be up there in the 90s. Next year rating in the 80s, no?”
Opinion
You can tell a lot about a player by how his teammates talk about them and the rave review from Fredericks says all you need to know about Rice. It has been hard to escape the plaudits coming from every angle for the West Ham youngster and this is just another admirer for the extremely promising talent. Rice should forget his FIFA rating this year – even he could not have expected to hit the heights he has done – but he should definitely join his teammate in laughing at Chelsea’s decision to let him go. It would no doubt have been one of the lowest points of his fledgling career but it has turned out to be brilliant for the Hammers, who have made full use of his qualities in the first team this season. With an England call up seemingly on the cards in the not-too-distant future, the decision makers at Stamford Bridge are undoubtedly bashing their heads against the wall over how they let him go for nothing. It has done wonders for Rice though, and there is every chance he would still be an unknown name had he remained with the Blues.