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Declan Rice proves again he can be West Ham’s defensive midfielder

By Scott Johnson

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 23: Eden Hazard of Chelsea is tackled by Declan Rice of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea FC at London Stadium on September 23, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 23: Eden Hazard of Chelsea is tackled by Declan Rice of West Ham United during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Chelsea FC at London Stadium on September 23, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images) /
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With a hard-fought point against Chelsea backing up a solid win over Everton, West Ham are looking better. A huge part of that is Declan Rice in central midfield.

If you had told be two weeks ago we’d comfortably beat Everton then hold Chelsea at bay I’d have laughed. West Ham were leaking goals all over and looked devoid of options up front. Now we’re looking at a game where we probably should have beaten the team who had been perfect up until then. And for me the biggest player change has been Declan Rice.

The former academy boy is now holding down a position as the Hammers’ go to defensive midfielder. In the last two games he has successfully negated the playmaking abilities of Sigurdsson and Hazard, two of the Premier League’s most capable attacking midfielders. And yet we’re still not meeting his contract demands.

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Strength to Strength

At the beginning of last season Rice was a player mentioned as on the fringes of the team. A youngster who had a bright future ahead of him. Then last season he finished runner up in the HOTY vote. Now he seems to be anchoring our side against some of the league’s best. The rise has been very impressive.

We wrote last week how his performance against Everton gave us stability, and against Chelsea he was strong in the tackle and smart with positioning. In our recent podcast we also talked about how there was no comparison between Rice and Oxford about the contract situation. Yesterday’s match against Chelsea should show that in even great clarity.

Despite Yarmolenko getting the nod as man of the match on social media, for me Rice was our best player. The Ukrainian winger played well and caught the eye but it was Rice’s composure and skill which really got allowed the Hammers into the game at all. And I bet you now that Rice wouldn’t have missed the simple header that Yarmolenko put wide.

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In a game where ball retention and denying the opposition space is important, Rice is key to the Hammers. The fact that we are still trying to palm him off with a sub-par contract is absolutely ridiculous. Any more stalling on the board’s behalf is bordering on outrageous.