Moyes puts Rice up there with the greats

David Moyes insists Declan Rice must aim to emulate the very best defensive midfielders of the last decade, including Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets and Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos.

Rice has developed into perhaps the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League in recent years.

But Moyes is wary of claiming that he is already the best in the world, and has urged Declan to maintain his form for the length of time that the two La Liga greats have.

Busquets won the 2010 World Cup with Spain, as well as Euro 2012, and has also won eight La Liga titles, along with three Champions League trophies; Kroos won the 2014 World Cup with Germany and has won six league titles, with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, while also lifting the Champions League five times.

Moyes told reporters: “I would always like to boost my players but Dec has got far more to come. He will be as good as anybody. He can challenge anybody, but over the years you think of the players like Busquets or Kroos, you would be saying that’s your aim to be like them.

“Busquets was brilliant for Barca and Toni Kroos been the best passing midfielder in Europe for about 10 years. We want Declan to be one of them and be one of the best in those individual things.

“But he played in a Euros final last summer and I have no doubt he will go to a World Cup and be a big player for England.”

 

About Dave Langton

A journalist with 10 years' experience of working on National newspapers, now chief reporter covering the club that I've loved since I was a boy. Upton Park remains the greatest football stadium ever built.