West Ham captain Declan Rice has absolutely raved about Spurs rival Harry Kane but not for the reasons you might think.
There is no love lost between West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur on the terraces or in the boardroom.
But rivalries are left at the door in Gareth Southgate’s England setup and that includes Hammers and Spurs heroes Rice and Kane.
West Ham and Tottenham fans have been willing their star men on at Qatar.
And both Rice and Kane will be among the two first names on the Three Lions teamsheet as England gear up for a huge a quarter-final against France at the weekend.
There has been yet another round of speculation over Rice’s West Ham future this week after his comments in an England press conference.
Tottenham fans will know all about that having endured years of the same regarding Kane’s future.
Well now the West Ham midfielder has been talking about the Tottenham striker in glowing terms.
In fact West Ham captain Rice has absolutely raved about Spurs rival Kane but not for the reasons you might think.
In a feature called ‘If I could’ on the England website, Rice was asked what one ability he would take from one of his England teammates.
Rice chose the deadly Spurs striker but the reason why may surprise fans of both West Ham and Spurs.
One would assume Rice would choose to take Kane’s finishing, especially as he says elsewhere in the feature that he wants to add more goals to his game for West Ham and England.
But instead he chose Kane for his ‘best in the world’ passing and revealed the Tottenham man is also the best player in the squad when it comes to the golf course too.
“If I could…take one part of an England team-mate’s game, it would be Harry Kane’s passing,” Rice said on the England website.
“Oh my God, it is incredible. You can see in the Premier League what he’s been doing during the last couple of seasons and this season.
“I feel like when he drops in the midfielder position and plays the balls over the top and in between the lines, he is probably the best in the world at doing that at the minute.
“There’s nothing better than playing golf for me, other than football. Harry Kane is the best in the squad. He is incredible at golf, like he is on the football pitch.”
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