Former West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic has praised Hammers starlet Declan Rice, saying he is like ‘the metronome’, and took credit for moving him into midfield where he’s been so impressive.
The 20-year-old has enjoyed a phenomenal breakout campaign this season, capped by his recent England debut, and Bilic is very much an admirer of a player he gave his senior debut to.
“He has a bit of everything; very strong in the tackle, good in positioning himself, decent, quick and hungry for the second ball,” he told the Daily Mail.
“We got him mainly as a centre-back in training, then we put him as a holding midfielder because he keeps the position there and can pass the ball. He’s like the metronome, he keeps the balance of the team, doesn’t go up or down or left or right. He stays in position which was unbelievably mature for his age.”
OPINION
How gratifying must it be for Bilic to see someone who you brought through, who you saw the potential in, go on and achieve everything that Rice has accomplished this campaign. The youngster has had an unbelievable few months and fully deserved his recent Three Lions call-up. It’s interesting what Bilic says about him initially calling Rice up as a centre back, because that was always supposed to be his position. Instead, he has evolved into one of the finest defensive midfielders in the Premier League. His vision, his ability to break up play and his masterful use of the ball make him absolutely undroppable for Manuel Pellegrini at the moment. The big challenge for West Ham moving forward, of course, will be to keep ahold of him. However, all this may not have been possible had Bilic not promoted Rice to the first team picture, so credit where credit’s due.
