West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice was released by Chelsea at the age of 14.
Rice was released by Chelsea when he was just 14 years old, but he has gone on to become one of the promising English prospects at West Ham.
The defensive midfielder has made staggering progress over the past two seasons and is now one of the first names of West Ham’s teamsheet.
And Rice has suggested that he thinks Chelsea may regret letting him go now.
“I was distraught. I’d grown up as a Chelsea fan – that’s what I’d known my whole life, so I was thinking ‘What am I going to do next,” he said.
“At the time when I got released by Chelsea, I thought they’d made a mistake, so I knew I had a point to prove. Now they’re probably looking back on it – the person who made the decision – and thinking, ‘Maybe we’ve messed up here.”
Chelsea fans have hit back at Rice though, and have claimed that the West Ham man wouldn’t have offered much to their starting line-up.
Chelsea supporters’ verdicts may not be giving Rice the credit he deserves, as he could actually have offered their first-team a lot.
Rice has provided an effective shield for West Ham’s defence, and his disciplined performances in the middle may not have gone amiss at Chelsea this term.
Frank Lampard’s side have leaked goals, with their back four often not given great protection from the likes of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic, whose strengths lie in other areas.
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