Green Street Hammers
Fansided

West Ham’s Declan Rice backs Jack Wilshere for revival

By Adam Smith

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: Jack Wilshire of West Ham in action during the Pre-Season Friendly match between West Ham United and Athletic Bilbao at the Olympic Stadium on August 03, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 03: Jack Wilshire of West Ham in action during the Pre-Season Friendly match between West Ham United and Athletic Bilbao at the Olympic Stadium on August 03, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Declan Rice has given a surprise look to the future when tipping his hand as a massive Jack Wilshere fan, a player he thinks can get back to his best for West Ham.

When speaking with Soccer AM, Rice broke down the recent string of matches for West Ham, stating they were unlucky to not get a point at Liverpool, dominated Southampton, and outplayed Arsenal despite the 1-0 loss.

Rice also offered some information about his fellow Hammers midfielder, Jack Wilshere, noting:

"“One player I want to see back playing is Wilshere. I think he’ll make a difference. The guy is ridiculous in training, the quality he’s got, I just want to see him play injury-free again. I know that’s what he wants and he’ll make such a difference to our side, as well as everyone else.”"

These comments arose after Rice broke down the Hammes positive matches and specified that the players and club have had a break now and with the entire squad back to full fitness, it’s Wilshere he’s most excited about playing beside to see what he can do.

The point is well taken as Wilshere is a massive talent, once touted as the future of England’s midfield and tipped for a superstar career. His skill has never been in question, however, the atrocious injury record he boasts is damning and derailing to and reliability in his career.

For West Ham, Wilshere signed on a free under Manuel Pellegrini, a move approved by the manager, Mario Husillos, and the board to bring Jack back home to his boyhood club. Since joining the Hammers, Wilshere has played just 14 Premier League matches over two seasons. His back-to-back ankle injuries in 2018/19 derailed that season while his 19/20 season has fallen off due to a groin injury.

It’s frustration that boils over with the highly paid midfielder; we all know exactly how gifted he is, but having a player of his calibre on his wages in the physio room constantly is a drain on supporter morale. That being said, if he can sustain his health through game management, is there a future for Wilshere at the club?

Next. West Ham: Making the case to keep Fabian Balbuena. dark

He’s on £100k a week and hasn’t proven by any stretch of the imagination that he is past his injury troubles. This means the Hammers will have him on the books until his contract expires in June of 2021. Realistically, he isn’t going to garner a move away so rest up, get fit and welcome back into the fold, Jack!