Former West Ham United full-back Glen Johnson has shared his view on Roy Keane’s comments regarding Irons captain Declan Rice.
Rice has been one of the standout performers amid a difficult season for the Hammers, with the club struggling to distance themselves from the Premier League relegation battle, sitting in 16th just a point ahead of the bottom three following Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion.
The West Ham captain has been heavily linked with a big-money move away throughout the season, with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and more reportedly interested in signing the midfielder.
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However, during the FA Cup fifth round defeat against Man United last week, former Red Devils captain Keane claimed that Rice has not done enough this season to warrant such a move, stating that the 24-year-old needs to add more goals and assists to his game.
“He has first got to focus on West Ham and doing well for the rest of the season, but I don’t think he has been great this season,” Keane told ITV. “I don’t think he has kicked on for all the talk there has been about him – he needs to do a lot more.”
Rice has scored two goals and provided three assists in 32 appearances in all competitions this term. Although Johnson agrees with Keane in terms of contributing more in front of goal, the former West Ham youth believes that that is something Rice can do at a top club.
“I do agree in a sense because when you’re talking about players that have a value as high as Declan’s, then you need to be scoring goals, providing assists and being a bit more influential,” Johnson told Betfred. “However, where I disagree with Roy is that Declan could do all that in a top team.
“West Ham have been shocking and the players around him won’t allow him to focus solely on his role, so he has to try and do everything. If he plays for a top team and has a role, whether that’s you wanting him to score goals and play the role of a box-to-box midfielder, or you want him to sit there and protect your back four, once he holds that position down then you will see the true value of the player.
“Right now at West Ham, Declan’s trying to be a jack of all trades and rightly so as he’s trying to do his best for the team. He’s trying to make tackles, he’s trying to score goals and he’s trying to protect the back four.
“You can’t do it all. If you’re valued by your club at £150 million, then you need to be the best player in your position but Declan can’t justify that value at the moment because he’s trying to do everything.”
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