Graeme Souness urges Man City to swoop in for West Ham maestro Declan Rice
Graeme Souness has become the latest of many pundits to encourage Declan Rice to leave West Ham to take his career to the next level.
The former Scottish international has dubbed Rice an ‘obvious replacement’ for Manchester City’s Fernandinho who is retiring at the end of the season aged 36.
A host of clubs have been widely reported to be interested in the 22-year-old with Rice’s future still unknown to many of us.
“At first, I feared he might become one of those ‘steady Eddies’ who play it safe and square all the time and say they ‘recycle possession’ rather than have an impact on matches for their teams,” Souness told the Sunday Times of Rice.
“My doubts were whether he’d have enough football in him to play in midfield. He could, ultimately, still play at the back, but right now that would be like tying his bootlaces together because he has so much energy to burn and the technique to get out of tight areas.
“I still want him to see the picture and deliver the pass earlier, to make more telling passes in the final third, but that could come with confidence and he rarely gives the ball away.”
He added: “City, Chelsea and United will all pay a premium for Rice. The only argument you can offer if you’re buying is that he’s not a striker and that’s where the big money generally goes. It might take Rice to another level.”
Decisions
Ultimately, the ball is completely in Rice’s court. It is near impossible to see him leaving in January, but you never know in football.
The Hammers vice-captain, on merit, has been one of the biggest talking points of English football at a very exciting time for the nation and has picked up a lot of recognition as a result.
He will be flattered with the likes of Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United all interested in the midfielder, much to the annoyance of all Hammers who want to keep hold of their maestro.
Rice’s future looks to be in claret & blue for the foreseeable future but how long is that?
The noise can’t be ignored forever as it is being done so well by the Londoner.
A decision needs to be made by the club and player collectively to put the continuously growing speculation from getting out of hand.
The most important thing for now is for Rice to focus on his football at West Ham.
In other Hammers news, ‘Just Fantastic’ – Ian Wright hails West Ham star after Crystal Palace win on MOTD.