McAvennie likens Declan Rice to Roy Aitken as praise is showered on West Ham ace
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie has joined Gareth Southgate in heaping praise on West Ham and England midfielder Declan Rice.
Ahead of England’s World Cup qualifier against Albania on Sunday, Southgate hailed Rice for the way he’s able to offer balance to his midfield with a possible spot at the European Championships up for grabs amid injury doubts over Jordan Henderson [Evening Standard].
The 22-year-old midfielder has played every minute of every Premier League game for the Hammers this season, wearing the captain’s armband for the bulk of those games.
After watching on from the bench on Thursday as England won 5-0 against San Marino at Wembley, it’s likely that Rice will return to Southgate’s starting line-up to earn his 11th cap against Albania.
Ahead of that game, McAvennie has likened Rice to his former Celtic team-mate Roy Aitken for the way he’s able to move the ball up the pitch with his runs from the back.
“He’s now showing what he’s capable of,” McAvennie told West Ham Zone.
“To be honest with you, I was critical of him in the beginning because he wasn’t playing well and he wasn’t getting forward. No disrespect to Noble but David needed the energy in the midfield and now he’s changed all that and now we’re seeing the best of Rice.
“We know the energy he’s got. Some of the runs you see Declan make, he has the ball at his feet in the defence and runs with his big, long strides. He’s a big lad.
“I played with a couple of boys who used to do that. Roy Aitken used to do that and the crowd love it because with one of those runs you can get from one end of the park to the other.
“It’s great to see. It’s like a throwback to the old days.”
Rice has transformed into a top-quality midfielder in the last few years after emerging at West Ham as a centre-back.
According to stats by Wyscout, the former Ireland international has made more interceptions than any other player at West Ham in the league this season [160] and ranks 11th in the Premier League.
And to back up McAvennie’s theory about the way Rice moves the ball up the pitch with it at his feet, he’s made 68 progressive runs this season, which ranks him joint-19th in the Premier League and above players like Andrew Robertson [67], Riyad Mahrez [62] and Mohamed Salah [59].
Rice is getting better each and every year but he’s yet to get the praise he deserves from England fans in his first 10 caps for the Three Lions.
Let’s hope that changes soon because clearly, they don’t see what we see when it comes to the 22-year-old ace.
In other West Ham news, our panel of Super Fans were blown away by Lingard’s performance for England on Thursday.