Jamie Redknapp took to his Instagram account to gush about West Ham midfielder Declan Rice after interviewing him at the London Stadium.
The Sky Sports pundit shared a picture of himself with Rice and wrote in the caption that he had been blown away by how the player dealt with what had been a whirlwind few weeks for him.
“Been a whirlwind few weeks for @declanrice,” wrote Redknapp on his personal Instagram account.
“Been in the news for the right and wrong reasons.
“But blown away by how he has faced it head on . Such a down to earth lad that deserves all the plaudits he is getting.”
“Thanks for your time big man.
“In the @mailsport tomorrow.”
Rice then responded, via his Instagram, to Redknapp’s praise in order to call the pundit a “top man” and reveal it was a “pleasure” to be interviewed by him.
OPINION
Redknapp is right to praise Rice for how he has the handled the last few weeks of his career as it has been like a crazy rollercoaster ride for him. After getting called up to the England to make his debut for them and previous social media post from when he was youngster dragged up, it’s no doubt be a trying time. However just like Redknapp stated, you wouldn’t have thought that given the way he handled everything with ease. Rice was quick to apologise for the posts he made when he was younger, which was the right move, before impressing in two appearances for England. While the 20-year-old midfield enforcer will no doubt continue to get praise for what he does on the pitch, it is nice to hear a pundit gushes so much about his character. As while a footballer can always work hard to improve on the pitch, if they can’t handle the off-the-field pressure that unfortunately comes with the game, that’s an issue which is harder to address.
