Declan Rice: ‘It’s so important’ for me to play alongside Jordan Henderson for England
West Ham midfielder Declan Rice has identified the importance of learning from Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson while on international duty.
The duo are currently on England duty together and the Hammers midfielder has spoken of how important it is for him to learn from a leader like Henderson.
Speaking in Saturday’s England press conference, Rice claimed that he can ‘get better’ from playing with the Liverpool captain and gave some insight on what it is like to play alongside him.
He said, “I think if you look at Jordan what he’s done in the game for his whole career really, but especially the last couple of years, I think it’s so important for someone like me to be playing next to him, to learn, to get better.
“I think the main thing I pick up from him is we already know his qualities on the ball, but you don’t realise until you’re playing next to him his leadership qualities and what he actually brings to the team.”
There is no doubting Henderson’s leadership qualities after captaining his Liverpool side to Champions League and Premier League glory in recent years.
Rice is still a young man and he has plenty to learn if he is to develop into the quality midfielder that he has the potential to be.
Learning from such an accomplished leader in Jordan Henderson can only be a good thing for the development of a prospect like Rice.
The 21-year-old has been touted as a future Hammers captain and with the experience of Henderson guiding him, he could make an excellent England captain in future.
Of course, it remains to be seen if Rice will remain a West Ham player for much longer following Chelsea’s interest in the summer. But if he remains at the London Stadium he could become a Hammers great and help lead the club to a bright future.
It is great to see the England set up helping to develop young players and hopefully, other young English players are learning from their more experienced teammates.
In other West Ham news, we think the Hammers dodged a very expensive bullet during the summer transfer window.