David Moyes hit back at Roy Keane following the former Manchester United midfielder's harsh opinion on Declan Rice.
Keane was critical of Rice ahead of Wednesday's FA Cup fifth-round tie at Old Trafford, claiming the midfielder has a lot to prove before he can secure a move to a Champions League club. Rice's future at West Ham has been in doubt for some time, with several top Premier League clubs eyeing the 24-year-old this summer.
“He has first got to focus on West Ham and doing well for the rest of the season, but I don’t think he has been great this season,” Keane told ITV. “I don’t think he has kicked on for all the talk there has been about him - he needs to do a lot more.
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“He doesn’t score enough goals or get enough assists. I have been a fan of him, he is always fit, but I just want a little bit more from him. There is talk of him leaving for big money and competing with teams for trophies, and he needs to do a lot more, it is as simple as that."
Speaking ahead of his side's trip to Brighton on Saturday, West Ham manager Moyes was asked about Rice, and the Hammers boss was full of praise for his captain who he hopes will captain England one day.
“I think Declan [Rice] has played really well for us,” said Moyes. “For a young player to have, what, 40 England caps at his age. No doubt he is going to go on and be an England captain in the future, or I think so.
“Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. I think he’s played really, really well and I think he’s going to go on and be a top player. Hopefully that will be with West Ham, that would be our choice. We would like it to be here. I believe he will go on to be a really good player.
“What I will say is Roy Keane was probably the best midfield player of his generation and he can certainly spot a good player because he played that position incredibly well over many, many years.”
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