Former Premier League striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has leapt to the defence of West Ham United and England international Declan Rice.
Rice has been one of the Hammers better performers this season with the club currently embroiled in a relegation battle, not helped by Saturday's 4-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
During the midweek defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup, former Manchester United skipper Roy Keane launched a scathing attack on Rice who has been linked with a big-money move to United or Arsenal.
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“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."
Manager David Moyes defended his player, saying before the weekend loss: “Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. I think he’s played really, really well and I think he’s going to go on and be a top player. Hopefully that will be with West Ham, that would be our choice. We would like it to be here. I believe he will go on to be a really good player."
And speaking on talkSPORT, Agbonlahor said that Rice has different roles for his national side compared to his domestic team and that having spent time under Keane at Villa, the ex-midfielder may have a problem with the current Hammers star.
"I've watched him for England when he's maybe got more of a freer role to go more forward, but you watch him at West Ham, he's got to sit there," he said.
"He's got [Tomas] Soucek who wants to get on the end of crosses, he hasn't got the licence to run forward. When he's at it, Declan Rice, he can run with the ball, he's got that long stride, he can score goals, [he is a] a great striker of the ball.
"I think sometimes some of these pundits like Roy Keane - who is a bitter guy, I had him [as assistant manager] at Aston Villa and he was a very bitter person - has something against him. He's what West Ham value him at."
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