Declan Rice will become England’s captain one day, West Ham United manager David Moyes said on Friday in response to criticism of the midfielder by Roy Keane.
he 24-year-old Rice has become a fixture in Gareth Southgate’s England team but Keane was less than complimentary about him after West Ham’s FA Cup defeat at Manchester United.
Former Manchester United midfielder Keane said Rice needs “to do more” and said he sometimes appeared to be “going through the motions” at West Ham.
Responding to Keane’s midweek comments, Moyes said: “Declan has played really well for us – 40 England caps at his age.
“No doubt he is going to be an England captain in the future. He is going to be a top player. Everybody is entitled to their opinion. Declan is a really good player.
“He’s not the finished article just now. He will improve. He is proving that to be the case at the moment.”
Rice is often linked to big-money moves away from West Ham with Premier League leaders Arsenal being linked to a potential £80million bid for the player in the close-season.
Of more concern to Moyes was West Ham’s late collapse at Old Trafford when they conceded three goals after leading 1-0 and making sure they bounce back on Saturday at Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League.
“I used to use the word flakey here at West Ham, I’ve got rid of it in the last few years but we certainly were for the last 15 minutes,” Moyes said.
“It’s no point being that, coming and turning up only to do that at the end.”
West Ham’s win over Nottingham Forest lifted them out of the relegation zone but they are still in a precarious position just two points ahead of Everton and Bournemouth in 18th and 19th positions in the table.
They will travel to the south coast trying to correct an abysmal record against Brighton which shows not a single victory in 11 previous Premier League clashes.
“Brighton have been a bit of a bogey team for us, so we need to try and overcome that,” Moyes said.
