Genk striker Ike Ugbo has told The Sun of his surprise at seeing Declan Rice captain West Ham United after playing with the Premier League star at Chelsea in their youth careers.
Ugbo will face his former teammate on Thursday when West Ham and Rice host Genk in the Europa League. Rice switched west London for east as a teen after Chelsea released the midfielder in his formative years. While Ugbo departed Stamford Bridge this summer.
Rice and Ugbo spent five-years together at Chelsea, playing alongside the likes of Mason Mount and now-Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah. But while the Blues dropped Rice at 14, Ugbo remained between various loan spells before joining Genk for £3m, rising to £6m.
Rice has used his Chelsea failure as the fuel to fire a great career with West Ham and for England. He has made 155 first-team appearances and earned 27-caps so far. David Moyes also insisted this summer that the midfielder is now worth over £100m, via the Daily Mail.
Ugbo praises Rice for career turnaround since West Ham arrival
And Ugbo praises Rice for showing what is achievable, when others in the 22-year-old’s situation could have faded into the background as a teen and soon been forgotten about.
“Some players get released and you never hear about them again, or you just hear from someone that they have stopped playing altogether,” Ugbo said. “So to go on like Declan has and just push on, it makes them stronger.
“To be released at 14 or 15, it is not easy to bounce back. It must be such a hard thing to take.” Adding: “It is a bit crazy anyway, because we played together at so many age groups. It shows what is achievable and what is possible.
“Declan was always the loud one in the changing room. It is mad to see him captain of West Ham now, but he was always a big character. You can see now he is a main character in the changing room.”
Happy reunion for Ugbo and Rice?
Thursday may mark the first time Ugbo has faced Rice in a competitive senior fixture since he joined West Ham. But the Hammers vice-captain will hope it is a happy reunion for his side, not Genk, in the Europa League.
Rice is an instrumental part of the Irons plans and is showing this season a greater box-to-box presence for Moyes. His leadership continues to rise, too, aided from being one of the bigger personalities at the Blues with Ugbo. Even if the 23-year-old is somewhat surprised.
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