Tottenham Hotspur are understood to have missed out on the signing of Declan Rice long before he became a West Ham United star.
The Athletic claim that Tottenham showed a real interest in signing Rice following his release from Chelsea.
Whilst held up as a success of the West Ham system, Rice did actually start out with Chelsea.
After eight years with the Blues, Rice was released – and that’s when Tottenham tried to lure him to North London.
Fulham were also keen on signing Rice, but it was West Ham who won the race to sign him back in 2014.
Now with more than 160 appearances to his name with West Ham, you have to feel Rice made the right decision.
Rice was given a fairly quick pathway to the West Ham first team, making his Premier League debut in 2017 at the age of 18.
Rice has been a fixture of the West Ham side ever since, and his game has gone from strength to strength.
Far from just a water carrier in midfield, Rice is showing that he can also go forward and impact the game in attack.
You have to question whether Rice’s rise would have been the same at Tottenham. Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp have emerged in similar roles, but haven’t yet reached Rice’s level.
If Tottenham wanted Rice now, they would be facing a huge fee – and that just goes to show the importance of youth recruitment and spotting quality in released youngsters.
That’s West Ham gain with Rice, and even Tottenham fans have been praising him of late. Oh how they would wish he was a Tottenham player right now.
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