Jamie Carragher tips Declan Rice to become a pundit
Jamie Carragher has told Gary Neville he believes West Ham United ace Declan Rice has what it takes to become a brilliant pundit.
The former Liverpool defender took up a punditry role with Sky Sports a few years after hanging his boots, and thousands tune him to watch him and the ex-Manchester United star on Monday Night Football.
Carragher reckons Rice, 22, has everything it takes to follow in his footsteps going forward, insisting the personality of the England international midfielder makes him stand out.
“There’s one player who stands out for me, who’s very young, who’s got something about him with personality, it’s Declan Rice actually,” Carragher told Neville on The Overlap (at 51:00).
“I don’t know if he’d be a good pundit, but he’s quite bubbly on the England social media and he’s on Twitter having a laugh and a joke.
“I think it’s not just about knowing the game. It’s about personality. We’ve got different personalities, but you’ve got to have a personality, you can’t just be like X, Y, Z. And I do think a lot of players now we can’t really see their personality.
“It’s almost [like] they’re so cocooned in like, they’ve got PR managers and you put this on social media and your Twitter and you do this and do that and you advertise that. Everything’s managed. We weren’t like that, we were a bit more off the cuff. I look at him and I think he’s a personality.”
What can’t Rice do?
A lot of players are not in charge of their social media accounts, while some share the usage with a PR company.
Rice is clearly not a fan, often saying it as it is when discussing issues and interacting with fans online.
He is one of most exciting players to follow on the internet, and he definitely would not mince words if he becomes a pundit.
He still has at least 10 years to play football, though, so it is too early to know what he wants to do after retirement.
The West Ham star also has the making of a potential manager, though, given his leadership abilities.
He has captained the team whenever Mark Noble is not on the pitch and has done incredibly well so far.
Could he become the next Carragher on Sky Sports? Without a doubt.
He is brilliant on and off the pitch, and such a personality definitely fits the profile media outfits look out for in pundits.
In other West Ham news, Jack Wilshere has predicted major Hammers exit, but reckons one goal would stop it.
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