West Ham United star Declan Rice has recently hailed the influence of Mark Noble in his career.
This came after Rice was interviewed for the latest episode of The 2 Robbies podcast and the English midfielder talked about numerous issues involving the club.
He was asked about Noble and his importance to West Ham. Rice revealed that if not for the Hammers’ skipper, he may not have been where he is today.
It has been already been confirmed by Noble that he will leave West Ham at the end of next season. He signed a new contract with the club last month, saying that while he does have a lot to offer on the pitch, he would only be at the club until the end of the 2021/22 campaign (as per The Guardian).
Will Rice leave West Ham once Noble departs?
Yes
No
Rice was asked about Noble’s influence and he revealed that he’s been training with the veteran since he was 16 and Noble is key to raising his own standards.
Rice said: “I’ve obviously been training with him since I was 16. I’m 22 now, so he’s seen the full development of me – not to say he’s probably one of the main reasons that I’m still around in the first team.
“Even now to this day, he’s still on me in training if I do things that are not up to the standard, he thinks I can do it and that’s what I want. I want to be pushed and there’s no one better that knows this club inside-out.”
TIF Thoughts on Mark Noble…
Noble has been at West Ham since 2000, but he broke into the club’s first-team in 2004 and he’s now served the Hammers for about 17 years (as per Transfermarkt).
The £2.7m-rated midfielder played 522 times in all competitions for the club, scoring 60 goals and also picking up 61 assists. While that shows his importance as a player, he stayed at the club through their fall to the Championship and through their rise back to the top flight (as per Transfermarkt).
He remained at the club despite interest from Tottenham too. This shows that Noble is West Ham through and through and he deserves respect for that.
In other news: ‘My gut is that’ – Journalist issues claim on Declan Rice’s future at West Ham