Dean Ashton spoke exclusively to Goal, and highlighted a key area where West Ham ace Declan Rice needs to improve.
The 20-year-old has performed exceptionally well for the Hammers over the past 15 months or so.
He has now fully established himself as one of the Premier League’s best holding midfield players.
And he is undoubtedly one of the first names on Manuel Pellegrini’s team-sheet.
It must be remembered just how young the West Ham youngster still is, however. He clearly has what it takes to make it at the very highest level.
Rice isn’t the full package as yet, however, according to former Hammer Dean Ashton.
“He reads the game very well, he breaks the play up superbly. On the ball nowadays, you want your holding midfield players to dictate tempo and I’m not quite sure he’s got that. He’s obviously got Mark Noble to learn off, I think he’s still better than him at that, and where I would like to see improvement is on the ball, being comfortable, being able to dictate the pace.”
Ashton then went on to say that talk of £100 million for Rice is ‘ridiculous’:
“I can’t see that. That’s a ridiculous amount for a player of his quality at the moment. I don’t think he’s anywhere near a £100m player. It is daft money nowadays, but I wouldn’t be saying that.”
Rice is under so much scrutiny now from the media. The fact that he is a regular for the England national team has piled even more pressure onto his young shoulders
He just needs to keep his feet on the ground, continue to work hard, and the right things will happen for him.
West Ham is undoubtedly the right place for Rice to continue his development. And if he remains focused, he will surely go on to become a truly elite player.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
