The young West Ham centre-back is very talented but is still rather raw.
Having made his senior debut at the end of last season, this campaign has seen Declan Rice becoming increasingly involved with the West Ham United first-team.
Capable of playing as a defensive-midfielder or a centre-back, the 18-year-old started in the latter position away to Manchester City yesterday owing to an injury to Winston Reid.
Although West Ham were beaten 2-1, Rice received a considerable amount of praise from West Ham supporters and there was certainly much to admire about his performance as he made some important defensive interventions and also demonstrated his composure in possession.
However, as it to be expected with such a young player, there is still much for Rice to improve upon before he can be considered to be ready to start regularly for West Ham in the Premier League when all of the club’s other defenders are fit.
Rice didn’t react quickly enough to close down David Silva, who scored City’s winner and there were several other occasions when the Republic of Ireland U21 international was caught out.
It is evident that Rice has the potential to be a success at West Ham and, given the club’s depleted options at centre-back, with James Collins and Jose Fonte joining Reid on the sidelines, it seems likely that the prospect will receive more game time over the next few weeks.
Once Moyes has his senior options back available, however, Rice should only be used sparingly for now before being given a prolonged opportunity to impress at a later date.
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