Murphy Leaps To Defence Of West Ham Ace And Outlines Why He Is Excited About His Future

Murphy Leaps To Defence Of West Ham Ace And Outlines Why He Is Excited About His Future

Danny Murphy has hit back at criticisms made of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice by Roy Keane. Before the England game against Kosovo on Sunday, the former Manchester United captain said that the Hammers star needs to improve in a number of areas to be a top player.

However, Murphy believes those comments were uncalled for, and he says that the 20-year-old has what it takes to go very far in the game:

“Declan’s a wonderful player. He’s 20-years-old, he’s been playing every week in West Ham’s side in the Premier League since he was a teenager and for the majority for the last season-and-a-half, he’s been their best player.”

“He’s progressed more than anyone ever thought he would, really quickly, which suggests to me he does have football intelligence.”



The TV pundit thinks that moving from the centre of defence to central midfield means it will take time for him to learn his new position:

“The other thing is he’s moved from a defensive position into midfield and you have to learn that role, and you learn as you play. International football is very different from club football and not playing European football at club level means you only get to learn about that when you’re playing international football, so he’s going to have good and bad games, it’s inevitable at 20 years of age.”

Rice is by no means the end product, but the fact that he is playing for England just eighteen months after Manuel Pellegrini’s decision to make him a central midfielder is a testament to the player’s progress.

The potential is certainly there for him to grow into an excellent holding midfield player in the not too distant future.

David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.