The Athletic’s West Ham United correspondent Roshane Thomas has claimed that Declan Rice can become a “global superstar”.
The 21-year-old Englishman has been with the Hammers since he moved to the club from Chelsea’s academy in 2013 (per Transfermarkt).
Rice then made his first-team debut for the Irons in 2017 during a 2-1 away win against Burnley under Slaven Bilic.
Since then, the defensive midfielder has gone on to make 122 senior appearances for West Ham and his market value has risen to a whopping £49.5m according to Transfermarkt.
During the latest episode of The Athletic’s U Irons podcast, Thomas claimed that Rice has huge potential and could become a “global superstar”.
When discussing Rice being pictured with Anthony Joshua and Floyd Mayweather, he jovially said: “Declan Rice is [a] superstar right now and we all know it was Anthony Joshua and Floyd Mayweather who asked Declan for a picture.
“They were like, ‘Listen, we’re big fans of yours. We would love it if we could get a picture and post it on our Instagram account.’
“It had me thinking, when you think of a defensive midfielder, they don’t really get that recognition. Everyone loves a striker, everyone loves attacking players.
“I think Wayne Rooney, during his heights, when he was in all the adverts, on the front covers of FIFA and all that good stuff.
“It had me thinking: if Declan Rice was able to get a good team behind him, [a] good marketing team and all that good stuff, there’s no reason why this guy can’t be an absolute global superstar.”
TIF Thoughts on what Roshane Thomas said about Declan Rice…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, he believes that with the right marketing behind him, the English midfielder can become a “global superstar”.
Do you agree that Declan Rice could become a 'global superstar'?
No, he's not that good
Yes, he's a class player
Certainly, if he continues the performances he has been delivering for David Moyes’ side so far this season, then he will do his image no harm.
Over 12 appearances in the Premier League, the Englishman has earned a solid 6.99/10 average rating, making him the Hammers’ fourth-best performer (per WhoScored).
So, having made over 100 senior appearances during his career and currently delivering consistently good performances, it certainly does bode well for the 21-year-old.