‘Deserves it’ – Peter Crouch heaps praise on West Ham star Declan Rice
Former England striker Peter Crouch has identified West Ham United’s star midfielder Declan Rice as one of the players of the season.
The 23-year-old was instrumental for the Hammers in the campaign where he produced numerous match-winning performances.
In his column for Daily Mail, the former Tottenham Hotspur striker Crouch named Rice as the ‘Young Player of the Year’ in his end-of-season awards.
“Declan Rice deserves it – and at 23 just qualifies,” Crouch wrote. “He is the heartbeat of that West Ham team and I like players who go out there with a smile on their face and look like they’re enjoying it.”
He also highlighted Rice’s versatility as a midfielder which was crucial for West Ham in the 2021-22 season.
“He’s gone from being a holding midfielder, a sitter, to become this dynamic player who is capable of doing all that defensive stuff but can go past people and take a game on,” he said.
The former Stoke City star also touted Rice as the next England national team captain.
“West Ham’s European journey was largely down to him and I think he is a future England captain,” he concluded.
Talented
Rice has been at West Ham since his youth days and has made 167 senior appearances for the club ever since getting promoted to the senior team in 2017.
He has impressed one and all during his time with the Hammers and has attracted interest from top Premier League clubs including Manchester United and Chelsea.
Despite getting attention from other clubs, Rice might be better off staying at West Ham this season because both Chelsea and Man Utd are in an uncertain situation at the moment.
However, it will be interesting to see how the London-based club’s top-tier management would react if a club comes with a big offer for a player who has already rejected renewal offers and his current contract is set to expire in the summer of 2024.
In the recently concluded campaign, Rice represented the Irons in 50 matches across all competitions, scoring five times and providing four assists.
In other West Ham news, Martin Samuel has responded to the latest West Ham London Stadium developments dubbing it the “deal of the century”.
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