Two years after being slammed by Manchester United legend Roy Keane, West Ham midfielder Declan Rice has now surely silenced his vocal critic.
The England international has been attracting interest from the Premier League ’s top sides, with the Hammers previously slapping a price tag of £100million on their vice-captain last summer – a fee that has only increased according to David Moyes.
But Keane wasn’t sold on the ‘hype’ of Rice previously. He went as far as reeling off numerous parts of his game that he needs to be improved upon in a scathing review of the midfielder.
The former midfielder told ITV Sport: “Where he needs to improve, there are plenty of aspects when you think about it. Over the last few months, he has had a lot of praise, I worked with him when he was with the Ireland squad.
"Where does he need to improve, where do you want me to start? His positional play, I don't think is consistent enough, he doesn't stay with runners, he's sloppy in possession.
"I can go on. He's one of those players, a couple of months ago everyone was enjoying him and loved him. He's one of those players that's now played his way out of the team because he's not been consistent for West Ham."
Rice is now the model of consistency in the centre of the park for the Hammers, almost leading them to a Europa League final – losing 3-2 to Frankfurt in the semi-finals on aggregate on Thursday night. His performances at Euro 2020, and on the international stage since, have also highlighted that he is a crucial element of Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions as well.
United have been closely linked with Rice over the past few weeks, with the belief that the 23-year-old could be a long-term solution for the team’s midfield issues. However, whether new boss Erik ten Hag is willing to fork out a monumental fee in his first-ever window at Old Trafford remains to be seen, especially considering midfield is far from their only issue.
Chelsea have also been linked with Rice in years gone by, though their current status as a sanctioned club means that they can’t sign any players until their ownership matters are resolved. Todd Boehly’s consortium is reportedly in exclusive talks to purchase the Stamford Bridge outfit.
But despite all of the interest, Rice appears committed to willing silverware with West Ham – righting the wrongs of their Europa League exit. He told BT Sport: “Me coming off there, I have lost big games, the lads in there have lost big games, but I come off there with my head held high. We have given it such a good go.
“No one expected us to get past Sevilla, no one expected us to get past Lyon. We had a genuine belief from in the camp with the fans and even from players from other teams texting us saying go out there and do it so we wanted to do it."
