The West Ham United youngster has been sensational this season.
West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini spoke to reporters after his side’s 2-0 win over Newcastle yesterday, and suggested that Declan Rice could be a future captain of the football club, as quoted by Football.London.
The 20-year-old has been quite simply brilliant for the Hammers this season, and he is now widely regarded to be one of the best holding midfielders in the Premier League.
Rice recently committed his future to West Ham, signing a new contract that runs until the summer of 2024, and he is already well on his way to becoming a legend at the London Stadium.
And Pellegrini believes the defensive midfielder has a great future ahead of him.
The Chilean addressed the emir after yesterday’s win, where Rice shone once again, and responded when asked whether the 20-year-old could be a future captain of West Ham, as quoted by Football.London:
“Maybe. Declan is a young player, he must learn a lot, keep him in this level. To be a captain you need many games behind you, have more age so in the future, maybe he will do it but in this moment he must keep in this way.”
Mark Noble is the current captain at West Ham, and he will surely still be around for a quite a few years yet, but when he finally hangs up his boots, Rice seems to be the ideal successor to wear the armband.
For the time being, however, the 20-year-old must continue to work hard and improve further still before he can even contemplate being named club skipper.
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