West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice scored his first senior goal for the club at the weekend.
Jonathan Walters is adamant that West Ham star Declan Rice ‘would fit right into’ one of the top Premier League teams as his stock continues to rise.
Both Walters and Rice have been international teammates with the Republic of Ireland as the youngster now contemplates whether to play for England on the national stage as he told the Times.
After watching the 20-year-old train with Ireland as a teenager, Walters was confident in saying that Rice will end up playing for a top Premier League side.
“Hell of a player,” Walters told the Alan Brazil Breakfast show on 15/01/2019 at 9:55 am. “I have said this from day one when he started training with the Ireland squad.
“When he has played in the games, he has continued to [look] a cut above a lot of players and where he is going is right to the top teams in the Premier League. He would fit right into one of those top teams in the position he plays.”
London-born Rice scored his first senior goal at the weekend when he netted for the Hammers during their 1-0 win over Arsenal on home soil.
At the start of the season, Rice struggled to get into Manuel Pellegrini’s starting XI, but he is now a regular feature in front of the defence.
Naturally a centre-back, Rice has been utilised in the number six role by his previous manager David Moyes and now Pellegrini.
Over the course of the campaign, the versatile player has made 23 appearances in all competitions for West Ham, helping them secure six clean sheets in the process.
Pellegrini’s side will now travel to the south coast at the weekend to take on Eddie Howe’s free-flowing Bournemouth team.
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