West Ham United captain Declan Rice has said that he pre-empted Jarrod Bowen’s winning goal during the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina on Wednesday night.
In the 90th minute of the clash in Prague, Bowen raced through on goal after Lucas Paqueta’s through ball and squirmed his shot past Pietro Terracciano to give West Ham a 2-1 win in the most dramatic of circumstances and gave West Ham their first major European trophy since 1965 in the process.
As Bowen ran clear of Fiorentina’s defence, Hammers skipper Rice has revealed that he said out loud that Bowen would score and indeed, the ex-Hull City man did do that.
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Speaking out on it, Rice said he knew that was Bowen’s chance to create history and indeed, Bowen and the rest of this West Ham side will go down in history for what they have achieved.
“When he ran through, I said out loud 'this is your time' in my head,” Rice told beIN Sports after the win. “As soon as you see it hit the back of the net, I'm still in shock, it's incredible.”
Following the game, West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has said that the club will sanction the sale of Rice this summer. Arsenal and Bayern Munich are among the clubs most linked with the 24-year-old.
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