Ronald De Boer praises West Ham United star Declan Rice, compares him to legendary Claude Makelele
Ronald De Boer made a special mention of West Ham star Declan Rice during an appearance on talkSPORT, praising him for his World Cup performances.
Rice has been an integral part of the England side that has reached the quarter-finals of the tournament, keeping three consecutive clean sheets in the process to set up a mouth-watering tie with France on Saturday (10 December).
But after bigging up attacking players and midfielder Jude Bellingham on the talkSPORT breakfast show (6 December, 09:38), De Boer wanted to ensure that he gave the West Ham skipper the credit he has earned.
“Declan Rice, what a player,” he said.
“He is the cement between the stones. He’s the guard at the house when you go for a drink.He protects the house, and that is so important.
“Those roles like the Casemiro, the Kante’s, the Makelele before him. They’re so influential in the team result at the end, and he doesn’t get the rewards and respect that he deserves.”
Quality
There’s that famous saying that it takes one to know one, so it’s no shock at all that a great defensive player like Ronald De Boer is a fan of Declan Rice.
Considering the level of performance that the 23-year-old has been turning in over the last few years, it is crazy that there are still people around who don’t rate Rice, but they do exist.
But from someone who truly understands the game at the highest level, seeing him compared with the likes of Casemiro, Ngolo Kante and Claude Makelele is a huge honour for Rice.
He’s got a way to go to become as good as those players are or were, but his potential is unlimited and there’s no reason he can’t go on to become one of the better defensive midfielders of his generation.
There is more to his game than just that, but he does the job so well and it is allowing England to control games and progress at the biggest stage, so we’re all for it.