Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has drooled over the displays of West Ham United duo Declan Rice and Grady Diangana in the 4-2 win over Burnley on Saturday.
Neither player netted in the thumping of the Clarets, but this did not stop Merson from waxing lyrical about the young pair after the victory, especially after Diangana provided an assist for one of Felipe Anderson’s goals in only his second league start.
The pundit labelled both players as “outstanding” following the result, and even praised how Diangana “got people off their seats” after his outing.
“Both of them were outstanding,” Merson said on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday [03/11].
“Both of them. Rice sits there and he keeps it very simple and Diangana, he got people off their seats. Every time he got it, he always looked to try and beat someone, he played a great ball to Anderson for his goal.”
OPINION
It is rare that the likes of Rice do not get praised by the pundits – but who can really blame them? Given the performances that the young ace churns out, it would be a very hard job indeed to keep quiet. Against Burnley, he proved exactly why Manuel Pellegrini was right to place his trust in him this season – even without the suspended Mark Noble, Rice bossed the midfield like it was his own. As for Diangana, this match may be a turning point for him in regards to the rest of the season. It would be hard to see the manager drop him after all of the effort that he has put in recently, especially on Saturday – he was one of the best players on the pitch despite the game being his second start since September. Pellegrini must love the fact that he has all of this young talent to call upon, and it is great to see him place so much faith in the youth.
