Former West Ham United manager Harry Redknapp has said that his former side will be desperate to keep hold of captain Declan Rice after his display against Newcastle United on Saturday.
Rice, who has been heavily linked with interest from Arsenal and Chelsea, was one of West Ham’s star players in their 1-1 draw at St James’ Park on Saturday, leading to him being named in Redknapp’s Premier League team of the week.
The midfielder’s performance led to manager David Moyes saying that if Rice left the club, the deal would smash the British record transfer of around £107million, with former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer also praising the 24-year-old’s display.
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Speaking on his performance, Redknapp, who managed the club for seven years between 1994 and 2001, as well as making 149 league appearances for them as a player, praised Rice, adding that West Ham will be desperate to keep him for as long as possible.
“Another top performance from the West Ham skipper,” said Redknapp to BetVictor. “Declan has a bit of everything in his game, but it’s his leadership and energy that always stand out for me.
“There’s not many better in this league than Declan Rice, West Ham will be desperate to keep him for as long as possible.”
Harry Redknapp’s Team of the Week in full : Keylor Navas (Nottingham Forest); Kenny Tete (Fulham), James Tarkowski (Everton), Lewis Dunk (Brighton and Hove Albion), Victor Kristiansen (Leicester City); Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur), Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers), James Maddison (Leicester City), Declan Rice (West Ham United); Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)
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