West Ham United fans will be delighted with footage of Declan Rice displaying his goalscoring ability in England training.
Rice is currently away with the Three Lions, coming on from the bench during the 2-1 win over Switzerland at Wembley last Saturday. Gareth Southgate’s men have another international friendly to navigate on Tuesday evening as they host Ivory Coast, and the squad has been preparing for the clash at St George’s Park.
Should Rice score more goals?
Yes
No
In the build-up, Southgate has been putting his players through some shooting drills, and despite being a defensive midfielder, Rice appears to be in his element judging by a video posted to his official Instagram Story. Nick Pope was on the end of several composed finishes from the 23-year-old, and Hammers supporters will no doubt be delighted to see he is enjoying himself on England duty:
TIF Thoughts on the Declan Rice footage…
Of course, there is only so much that can be taken out of training, but Rice’s improved finishing should not come as a surprise to anyone who has watched him domestically this term.
The former Chelsea youth product has found the back of the net on four occasions for the Irons, a career-high return, and the nature of some of those strikes has been particularly impressive. Rice’s solo run and clinical strike away at Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League, for example, will live long in the memory.
A constant goal threat is perhaps the only thing missing from Rice’s game. He has grown in stature for club and country, and has developed into a composed presence in the middle of the park – just look at how his passing accuracy has improved with each passing season. Of course, more goals will only attract increased attention from other clubs in England and abroad, but that would only be a testament to his ability.