Former West Ham favourite Tony Cottee believes the sky is the limit for Declan Rice, the club’s official website reports.
Hammers academy product Rice was present alongside Cottee as the pair were at the official unveiling of the club’s new academy headquarters.
Cottee raved about West Ham youngster Rice, who has starred for the Irons this season. This has even earned him his first senior England call-up.
The 20-year-old will be hoping to follow in Cottee’s footsteps by etching his name in West Ham folklore after graduating from the academy.
Cottee played 336 games for West Ham, scoring 146 goals. Rice has 65 senior games under his belt (and two goals) and Cottee believes the future is bright for the young midfielder.
Tony Cottee on Declan Rice
Cottee raved about Rice’s development and said: “He is performing consistently well on the pitch, we are running out of superlatives to describe his development, and I’m sure he will go from strength to strength.
“He will notice that the approach of his opponents towards him may be different from now on – he will naturally earn more respect and with that comes greater scrutiny and attention. Other players will attempt to put him off his game, but that is all part of his development and learning.”
Cottee continued by talking about Rice’s potential. The former Hammers striker added: “Declan is still in the early stages of his climb, and there will be difficult tests and challenges ahead for him, but everything I have seen of him so far makes me very confident that he will make it to the very top.”
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