West Ham midfielder Declan Rice has lauded Liverpool midfielder Thiago following their encounters in the Premier League.
The Hammers skipper has established himself as one of the best midfielders for England with Gareth Southgate entrusting him in the middle of the pitch. Rice has spoken highly of the 31-year-old, a player who was heavily criticised after arriving in the Premier League, as recently as April when Dietmar Hamann weighed in.
In a recent interview with Tubes on the Tubes & Ange Golf Life YouTube channel, the 23-year-old named Liverpool's Spanish midfielder as one of the toughest midfielders he has played against in his career. He said: "There's so many (good midfielders) I can't even describe or pick out one.
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"De Bruyne was just special, the way he thinks about the game, the position he picks up for a holding midfielder is horrible he just makes you think. Same with David Silva when he was in the Prem (sic), he was the exact same, couldn't get near, technically one and two touch was just one step ahead of everyone.
"(Eden) Hazard when he was in the Premier League with Chelsea, I was only just starting then but he was so quick, so agile. Even when I played against Thiago at Liverpool, last season, he's just so silky. He plays the game at his own pace, he was proper."
It isn't the first time that the England international has raved about the Reds midfielder. Speaking after their encounter in February last year, Rice said: "When I played against Thiago the other day for Liverpool, obviously he is a holding midfielder, it was a big lesson.
"He ran the game. The ball was like on a string. It was like he dictated the tempo of the game and he has been there and done it."
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