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Gareth Southgate explains how ‘outstanding’ West Ham star can get better
England manager Gareth Southgate has raved about the ability of West Ham’s Declan Rice.
Rice, who is currently away on international duty with England, is arguably in the form of his career so far.
The 22-year-old defensive midfielder is an ever-present at club level for West Ham, who are firmly in the race for a Champions Leauge finish this season in the Premier League.
He’s excelling alongside club teammate Tomas Soucek, and the central midfielders are powerhouses at the London Stadium.
The £60,000-a-week () man will now be hoping he can transfer that form into an England shirt.
International boss Southgate is massively impressed by the Irons star, who he feels can get even better when it comes to his play on the ball.
“He’s outstanding at recovering balls in midfield,” .
“He’s outstanding at recovering balls in midfield,” the England manager continued. “I think there are only a couple higher in the Premier League in terms of recoveries in those midfield areas.
“I think there is still more to come with the ball, that building of attacks, that receiving from defence and transferring the ball quickly forward. We see evidence of it and we see at times he has the athleticism to drive forward with the ball as well.”
TBR’s View:
If you were selecting a best England XI, then surely most people would include Rice as their defensive midfielder.
He’s the stand-in captain for Mark Noble at West Ham who already has brilliant leadership qualities for such a young age, and it looks like his overall game continues to improve.
Rice is superb defensively when it comes to covering his backline with interceptions, blocks and tackles, but there is a real athleticism to get forward that he needs to unlock more of.