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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