Former Germany and Bayern Munich star Lothar Matthaus has heaped praise on West Ham United captain Declan Rice amid links with the Bundesliga champions.
Hammers skipper Rice has been heavily linked with a London Stadium departure this summer, with Bayern and Arsenal among the clubs linked with interest in Rice ahead of the summer window opening officially in nine days’ time.
Matthaus, whose playing career saw him play 150 times internationally for West Germany and Germany, also played 302 league matches across two spells for Bayern between 1984 and 2000, has spoken highly of Rice’s quality as both the Hammers’ captain and as an integral part of England’s squad.
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Speaking on him, he says that Rice fits the bill of being experienced and being the exact kind of midfielder Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel is said to be eyeing, meaning the links with Bayern make sense.
“Thomas Tuchel has apparently indicated he would like to have a different type of player, a successor to Javi Martínez: strong in the air, strong in tackles, robust, a bit different from Kimmich,” Matthaus told AZ.
“They are looking for a more aggressive leader. Rice has a lot of experience, he’s not the captain of West Ham United and an England international for nothing,”
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