West Ham midfielder Declan Rice compared to Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard
Tony Cascarino believes West Ham midfielder Declan Rice would justify his £100m valuation if he adds goals to his game like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
Rice scored his fourth goal of the season as he scored a 91st minute equaliser against Kidderminster in the FA Cup, helping the Hammers progress into the next round.
The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with a £100m+ transfer away from the club this summer [Telegraph] but many have questioned whether he is actually worth that much money.
Ex-Ireland striker Cascarino was speaking on talkSPORT when he claimed that Rice is as good as England legends Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard at breaking forward from midfield and goals would help justify his price tag.
“When he plays a holding midfielder role where there’s no assists and goals then people always say ‘well how can you pay £100million to buy a player who doesn’t contribute to goals?’ he said.
“But he’s very good at doing that, I’ve had this conversation with [West Ham coach] Stuart Pearce, I think there’s goals in Declan Rice.
“Steven Gerrard was great at breaking in from the midfielder position to the forward lines very quickly.
“Wasn’t as good as Frank Lampard, and Frank Lampard did that sort of thing, Declan Rice can do that, he can defend for you, he can win the ball, the simple things.
“And he can get you goals, I think that’s where you can say, is he a £100m midfielder if he adds goals to his game? I would say definitely yes.”
Great company
For any midfielder to be compared to two all-time greats in Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard is huge, but for Rice it’s a brilliant achievement.
Someone who came through as a centre-back and then progressed into midfield and is now developing even more as a box-to-box type as the season progresses.
Rice doesn’t need to add goals to his game to justify his valuation. As far as West Ham are concerned he is irreplaceable and therefore worth everything to them.
Adding goals to his game would make him one of the most complete midfield players in the world, but that doesn’t need to be his focus right now.
At just 23 he’s still years away from his prime and has plenty of time to improve. If Rice can continue this development and do it at the highest level, then there’s no reason why he won’t be mentioned alongside the likes of Gerrard and Lampard when his career is over.
In other West Ham news, BBC pundit gushes over ‘Gifted’ West Ham star after performance v Kidderminster