David Moyes offers his thoughts on West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice

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Declan Rice has been one of West Ham United’s standout performers this season.

David Moyes has claimed that West Ham ace Declan Rice is playing as well as ‘any midfield player in the country’ after making ‘a few mistakes’ last season.

Last season, Moyes replaced Slaven Bilic in the London Stadium dugout midway through the season and he gave the then-teenager regular game time at centre-back.

In the summer, the Hammers opted to part ways with Moyes and replace him with former Premier League winning manager Manuel Pellegrini, who has since deployed him in the number six role.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live (05/03/2019 at 7:45 pm), Moyes was full of praise for the progression Rice has made from the time he was working with him.

“Well, I was hoping he was Scottish than Irish or English, to be honest,” Moyes joked with BBC Radio 5 Live. “Declan has a terrific attitude, he was always going to do good things in his career, no matter what.

“But I have got to say, he has been exceptional this year. I do believe watching a lot of football, he is playing as well as any midfield player in the country, at this moment in time.

“He played quite a lot for us last season as a centre-half and as an 18-year-old centre-half in the Premier League, it’s very difficult and he made a few mistakes.”

It is fair to say that Rice, at this moment in time, has been West Ham’s best player and one of the best performing number 6’s in the Premier League.

Recently, he opted to switch allegiances from the Republic of Ireland to England, and with the international break coming up in the next few weeks, he could be making his Three Lions debut.

If he were to be picked by Gareth Southgate then he will compete with the likes of Tottenham’s Harry Winks and Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson for that midfield spot.

Either way, Rice has had a tremendous campaign and after scoring during his last league outing against Newcastle, he will be looking to add more goals to his name in the near future.