Garth Crooks blown away by ‘instrumental’ Declan Rice in West Ham United win v Bournemouth
Garth Crooks has waxed lyrical about West Ham United captain Declan Rice and believes the midfielder is worth at least £80million after watching his performance against Bournemouth.
The Hammers star was pivotal in the Hammers’ 4-0 win over the Cherries on Sunday (23 April), getting his name on the scoresheet for a second time just four days after netting a superb solo goal against Gent in mid-week.
And Crooks, writing in his BBC Sport column, named the “influential” England international in his team of the week for his role in helping to “obliterate” their Premier League relegation rivals on the south coast.
“He scored an absolute cracker against Gent in the Europa Conference League in midweek and then hit another belter against Bournemouth days later,” he said.
“Declan Rice is once again proving to be an instrumental figure in a West Ham revival. I’m not entirely sure where this West Ham performance came from. They would have gleaned some confidence from their comeback against Arsenal but they went to the Vitality Stadium and absolutely obliterated the Cherries.
“The win puts the Hammers on 34 points and takes the pressure off David Moyes’ team after securing a semi-final place in a European competition.
“Declan Rice has to be worth £80m of anyone’s money.”
Unbelievable form
Rice has been central to West Ham’s dramatic turnaround in the last fortnight, delivering a man-of-the-match performance in the 2-2 draw against Arsenal before scoring twice in the wins over Gent and Bournemouth.
The upturn in form comes just after Graeme Souness said the midfielder should move into a centre-back role later in his career due to his lack of creativity and attacking ambition.
Having quietened his critics in some style, Rice now looks like the complete package.
He showed his defensive qualities against Arsenal, his individual skill when netting against Gent, and brought the two together in yet another quality display at the weekend.
The West Ham United hierarchy will be extremely happy about Rice’s stunning form amid an imminent move away from the London Stadium in the summer.
At this rate, the club could pluck any figure from the air for Rice and somebody across Europe would still be likely to pay his fee.