In the last couple of decades, English football has produced some highly talented and technically gifted midfielders such as David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, James Milner etc. to name a few. If one more name is deserved to be included in the above list, it has to be that of Declan Rice.
Born on January 14, 1999 in Greater London, Rice joined the academy of Chelsea Football Club at the age of seven in 2006 and after serving there for seven years, he was approached by fellow London side West Ham United in 2013. He eventually joined the academy of ‘The Hammers’ which has a rich legacy of producing genuine home grown talents.
After spending two years in the West Ham academy, in 2015 Declan Rice signed his first professional contract for the club. However, he made his senior debut only in 2017 after being featured for the reserve squad in the meantime.
Under the stewardship of Scottish manager David Moyes, he became a regular starter in the central midfield alongside veteran academy graduate and compatriot Mark Noble. In 2018, when Manuel Pellegrini replaced David Moyes as the head coach, the former continued his predecessor’s preference of playing Rice in the key position of defensive midfield.
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By the time when Pellegrini departed in the summer of 2019 and Moyes was brought back at the helm again, Rice had established himself as an integral part of West Ham’s starting eleven.
Following the retirement of club captain Mark Noble in May 2022, Declan Rice was named the captain for the 2022-23 season. The campaign went well for the east London side as they lifted the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy in June 2023, defeating Italian side Fiorentina 2-1 in the final, though their domestic performance was not up to the mark as they finished 14th in the league. It was West Ham’s first major European silverware since 1965.
After several eye catching and dazzling performances in the preceding season, other English giants like Manchester City and Arsenal were keen to have his signature. Eventually he was signed by north London rivals Arsenal in the summer of 2023 following a record transfer fee of 100 million pounds, equaling the previous record held by Jack Grealish.
On his arrival at the Emirates, he immediately found his place in the starting lineup, not to mention the instantaneous impact. Moreover, under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, Rice has become more combative and complete midfielder by all means, scoring goals at crucial moments and marking oppositions with more authority. It is beyond doubt that he is going to play a pivotal role for the gunners in near future.
At the International level, Declan Rice was eligible to play for both England and also for Republic of Ireland as his paternal grandparents were from Ireland. In fact, he represented Republic of Ireland both at junior as well as at senior levels till 2018. However, in February 2019 he pledged his future to England and since then he is regularly wearing the famous white England jersey and has already took part in two major competitions like UEFA Euro 2020 and FIFA World Cup 2022.
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17 comments
An excellent and well executed idea is expressed through the words, in which an attempt has been made to highlight one of the rising stars in the arena of English football. It is important that more such valuable and informative insights into the professional aspects of the careers of such sportsmen are provided, as it is essential to steer our attention from the generally stereotyped figures, every now and then.
Informative, concise, and well-written. Keep up the excellent work!
This is so well-researched and thorough. Keep on writing
The article is quite interesting to read and very informative. It’s good to know about this rising star in the football arena.
The article is quite interesting to read and very informative. It’s good to know about this rising star in the football arena.
The article is quite interesting to read and very informative. It’s good to know about this rising star in the football arena.
Those who love football really going to love this article thanks to Abhirup… Football is a not just a game it’s an emotion for all of us
The article is very interesting. It’s quite informative, as we got to know about this rising star in football arena.
Great write up about one of the best defensive midfielder in the world currently… Arsenal has definitely benefited with him being in the team. A first major trophy would surely be up for grabs if Arsenal play the way they are playing right now.
Keep it up Abhirup. Hope to read many more articles related to Football.
Brief, but informative write-up. English football does not quite live up to its billing on the world stage.
Very informative and well-written article.
Very .well researched andvwritten information.
Lotbof us do not know the past of young players so to me it was intersting keep it up
Nice article… Great to know that you write about football and so well..
Keep it up!
The writer of this article, a regular viewer of English and European Football league since the age of seven has shared the achievements of Declan Rice , World Cuper for England who playing football since the age of seven.
Abhirup has nicely authored on great footballer Declan Rice rose to fame.
As Abhirup has gone through the soccer world even in dreams ,we expect many more to enlighten us and pen more contribution, who are succeed and make it to the top.
Siddhartha
Great Article. Very well written.
Really liked Abhirup’s very well written article on Declan Rice a key player for Arsenal and England! Sincerely hope to read many more of such articles from Abhirup!!
A well researched and crispy article from Abhirup’s end.