West Ham defender Declan Rice has named ex-Chelsea captain John Terry as one of his idols.
West Ham youngster Declan Rice has admitted he has analysed Chelsea legend John Terry in the past and tried to mould parts of his game on him.
Terry, who is currently a free agent after leaving Aston Villa in the summer, is regarded as one of the finest centre-backs England has produced in the past couple of decades.
His career has been mainly spent at Stamford Bridge captaining Chelsea and current Hammers ace Rice has revealed he is one of his heroes.
Rice is a versatile player that has been used at both centre-back and as a defensive midfielder so far during his first-team career with West Ham.
The 19-year-old is hoping to become an important player this season under manager Manuel Pellegrini and explained he’s tried to mirror some of Terry’s traits.
“John Terry was probably my next hero,” Rice said, as quoted by the club’s official website.
“I watched the way he played, his leadership skills, the way he handled himself and the way he gave 100 per cent to everything he did, and I aspired to be the same.
“When I moved from midfield to centre-back, I started watching more clips of him and he’s probably the biggest hero of mine and I definitely feel like I’ve taken parts of his game and tried to put them into mine.”
Terry is certainly not a popular figure with West Ham fans given his London connections, but they will be thrilled if Rice can turn out to be anything like him.
He has shown real glimpses of quality at senior level and was becoming a regular in the starting XI last season under David Moyes.
The Republic of Ireland international now needs to start fresh under Pellegrini, but has shown he is very comfortable on the ball and has massive potential.
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