Former West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic admits he did not expect Hammers captain Declan Rice to become as good of a player as he is now.
Bilic, who managed 111 West Ham matches between June 2015 and November 2017, handed Rice his senior debut on the final day of the 2016/17 Premier League campaign as a substitute in a late cameo role against Burnley, a game which West Ham won 2-1 courtesy of goals from Sofiane Feghouli and Andre Ayew.
That late run out in Lancashire was senior outing No.1 in claret and blue for Rice, who is likely to make his 245th, and potentially last, West Ham outing on Wednesday night against Italian side Fiorentina in the final of the Europa Conference League, with Rice heavily linked with a transfer exit this summer. Arsenal and Bayern Munich are the heaviest linked sides, among others.
