West Ham United manager David Moyes has told The Athletic that Declan Rice is similar to Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson.
Moyes has outlined how West Ham midfielder Rice is similar to his England international teammate and Liverpool star Henderson.
The former Manchester United boss has said that 23-year-old, who can also play as a defender, needs to improve on certain aspects.
Declan Rice compared to Jordan Henderson
Moyes told The Athletic about Rice: “If I think of when Jordan Henderson left Sunderland to go to Liverpool, there were a lot of people who were saying… not that they were surprised, but they weren’t sure.
“I think Declan is a similar age now to what Jordan was then. And I think Declan at the moment is in a really good position. Jordan Henderson has been a great player and captain for Liverpool, having to take over from Steven Gerrard, and he has done a brilliant job. I think Declan has got a lot of the same traits.
“And as a player, he’s quick, he’s good on the ball. There’s a lot of things he can still improve on. We want to improve his passing and his goalscoring.
“We’re trying to get all those elements picked up, but there’s a lot of players — good England players — who at 22, 23 aren’t even close to being at the level they want to be. I think Declan is (already) a good way down the line to becoming a really top player.
“I might be wrong in saying this, but he probably won’t be far off being one of the first picks for England now. Maybe Harry Kane would be the only one in front of him.”
West Ham United star
In our opinion, Rice is one of the best young midfielders in the world, and comparisons with Henderson show how good the West Ham star is.
The 23-year-old protects the back-line and also moves the team forward.
Now, of course, at 23, Rice is not the finished article, and as Moyes points out, the West Ham star has certain aspects of his game that he still needs to work on.
But just look at Henderson and how much the Liverpool midfielder has grown and developed.
The Englishman has taken his game to another level under Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and is now a big player for the team.
In our view, Rice can only grow and develop in the coming months.
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