Michail Antonio has been speaking to Sky Sports at the West Ham end-of-season awards, where he spoke about Declan Rice.
What’s the story?
Well, Sky Sports managed to catch a word with the £7m man, as the 2021/22 Premier League season nears an end.
Antonio was asked about the future of Rice, and whether the England international will be staying at the London Stadium.
In response, the Jamaica international said: “Dec has not even touched his best yet. He is unbelievable, what I see every day in training, he’s got so much more to do, and so much more to learn, but what he’s doing right now, he’s up there with the best in the Premier League already.
“Whatever Dec wants to do, I’ll be happy for him.”
In our view, Antonio handled the question brilliantly.
It was a tricky one to deal with, as there have been rumours of Rice rejecting three contract offers from West Ham.
However, Antonio ensured he didn’t let anything significant slip, and also found time to praise a fellow teammate.
So far this season, Rice has scored five goals in 48 appearances, while also providing four assists.
By the sounds of it, we could see many more goal involvements from the 23-year-old next season, if what Antonio said about him is true.
West Ham must help Declan Rice
In our view, David Moyes needs to put a lot of work in to Rice, as his potential is frightening.
As we saw in the 2-0 Europa League win over Dinamo Zagreb back in September, the West Ham No.41 has a Yaya Toure-like ability to burst forward.
Rice made the Dinamo Zagreb side look like Under-12 players as he stormed past them, before slotting a composed finish beyond Dominik Livaković.
However, he only has five goals this season, so there is clearly room for Rice to add to his numbers going forward.
Now, it’s up to the England international himself, and also Moyes, to find a way to utilise his power going forward.
If they can do so, the Hammers could soon have the best all-round midfielder in Europe.
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