OPINION
Manuel Pellegrini shared he still believes there is plenty of room for improvement regarding West Ham midfielder Declan Rice and this should have fans salivating about the player’s future.
The Hammers boss shared that he thought the 19-year-old, who is a fan favourite at the London Stadium after emerging from the academy, still needs to learn a lot about playing in midfield.
“I think that Declan has a great future, in this moment he is a very mature player – at 19 years old it is not easy, he needs to learn a lot about how to play better in that position but in every ball he gives all in the 95 minutes, he has good recovery and a good technique,” said Pellegrini after the 3-2 win over Palace, as transcribed by Football.London.
“I think we are seeing a player that you must talk about a lot in future years.”
Rice has regularly featured in midfield for the Hammers across his 16 outings this season and has consistently put in performances that could have seen him go home with the Man of the Match award for his efforts.
Yet Pellegrini clearly thinks that the teenager is capable of more and that shows what a player the Hammers have on their hands.
If an experienced football man like Pellegrini still thinks Rice needs to learn a lot about being a midfielder, while he is putting in vital performances, then the world is clearly his oyster.
The player’s potential should have fans salivating as a result as the fan favourite could be a key part in the club moving forward and making progress.
While Hammers supporters will worry that the club will hold on to Rice given that the sensation is being made to wait until the summer to thrash out a new deal that would be an improvement on his current £3,000-a-week contract (Source: Claret & Hugh), it’s hard to see the London club dropping the ball so remarkably that his exit occurs anytime soon.
Therefore this all means that Hammers fans should be salivating over Pellegrini’s remarks as the already superb Rice will clearly continuing to raise his game in order to continue wowing fans.
