Borussia Dortmund starlet Jude Bellingham heaped praise on West Ham United captain and Arsenal and Chelsea transfer target Declan Rice on Thursday evening.
football.london understands that Rice is the Gunners' primary transfer target ahead of the summer window as Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his midfield options at the end of the current campaign, while the Blues have held a long-term interest in bringing their former academy prospect back to Stamford Bridge.
The 24-year-old showed exactly why he is rated so highly last night, delivering a hugely impressive performance during England's 2-1 victory over Italy, scoring the opener and dictating much of the game from the centre of the park.
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After the full-time whistle, Dortmund maestro Bellingham took to social media to hail his international teammate. "What a player", the 19-year-old said in Rice's Instagram comment section. Liverpool hero Jamie Carragher has previously voiced a similar opinion on the Hammers' skipper, comparing him to Manchester United icon Roy Keane.
Writing about Rice in The Telegraph: Carragher said: "He asserts his class in a different way, positioning himself in front of the defence and – at his best – dictating the tempo of the game. Pigeon-holing Rice as a modern ‘No 6’ is not accurate, though.
"He reminds me of the marauding box-to-box midfielders of the mid-90s such as Roy Keane. Keane could do everything, a perfect combination of technique and physicality, just like Graeme Souness in the 1980s."
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