West Ham United manager David Moyes has given his response to comments made by former Manchester United captain Roy Keane on Hammers skipper Declan Rice.
Keane was critical of Rice on Wednesday night ahead of the Hammers losing 3-1 to United in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford, with the Irons and England star heavily linked with a big money transfer exit at the end of the season, with Arsenal among the clubs named as potential suitors.
Speaking to ITV, Keane said that while he does like Rice, he still has a way to go to improve and warrant the sort of transfer fee he has been linked with, with Moyes saying earlier this season that Rice’s exit would break the current British transfer record held by Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez of around £106million.
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Ahead of the midweek cup tie, Keane said, “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.
“He doesn’t score enough goals or get enough assists. I have been a fan of him, he is always fit, but I just want a little bit more from him. There is talk of him leaving for big money and competing with teams for trophies, and he needs to do a lot more, it is as simple as that.
“Sometimes I see him play at West Ham, and he goes through the motions and he needs to do a lot more to match the top midfielders in the country.”
At his latest press conference, former United manager and current West Ham boss Moyes was asked about what Keane had said on Rice and added that he rates his captain very highly.
He said that he thinks Rice will become England’s captain in the future, adding that Keane’s playing career with clubs like Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Celtic makes him a very good judge of players in a similar position.
“I think Declan [Rice] has played really well for us,” said Moyes. “For a young player to have what 40 England caps at his age. No doubt he is going to go on and be an England captain in the future, or I think so.
“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.
“What I will say is Roy Keane was probably the best midfield player of his generation and he can certainly spot a good player because he played that position incredible well over many, many years.”
Although Rice is one of the stars of Gareth Southgate’s England team, it is often easy to forget that the Hammers captain is still just 24 years old.
But Moyes feels that Rice will continue to prove why there is so much speculation linking him with the country’s biggest teams, adding his best years are still to come.
“I think Declan [Rice] is a really good player and I think he will prove it,” added Moyes.
“I don’t think he is going to be finished just now, but he will improve with age, Declan. He is proving that to be the case at the moment.”
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