West Ham United midfielder and club captain Declan Rice has helped to revive what looked like being a tricky end to the 2022/23 campaign a couple of months ago.
The Hammers were fighting for their Premier League status and boss David Moyes was reportedly on the verge of being sacked at the London Stadium, with relegation from the English top-flight for the first time since 2011 seeming like a real possibility.
Since then, Rice has played a major role in helping his current employers to stay afloat in the league while could also become a history-maker with West Ham if he can lead his side to a famous Europa Conference League triumph, with only Fiorentina standing in their way in the final.
In light of his impressive performances in the middle of the park, Arsenal are claimed to be heavily interested in his services coming into the summer alongside Bayern Munich, though it could cost as much as £120 million to entice the England international away from east London, as per Sky Sports.
What's the latest news involving Declan Rice and how has he faired this term?
Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Paul Brown has indicated that he sees Rice as being in a similar mould to former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane, who could operate either as a sitting midfielder or move further forward when needed.
Brown stated to FFC when asked about potential replacements or comparable former West Ham players to Rice: "I honestly can't think of one because I genuinely believe Declan Rice is a great player. I can't think of the last great midfielder they've had like him really. I mean, Mark Noble gave them huge service but was a very different kind of player. Rice is becoming more of a kind of Roy Keane type who can play a little bit of both roles be a marauder or a sitter, both a destroyer and a creator. That's quite rare and I do think he's going to get even better, so it's not easy to see where, even in the current market, you'd really find any ready-made replacements for him. It's a difficult one."
In 2022/23, the 24-year-old has provided a goal threat from deep for the Hammers, registering five goals and four assists across 49 appearances in all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.
Speaking to Sky Sports via The Boot Room, pundit Alan Smith lavished praise on Rice following West Ham's 4-0 victory against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium last month, saying: “Declan Rice, He’s like two players for West Ham. He’s unbelievable, world-class and he is starting to add goals to his game as well.”
WhoScored demonstrates that Rice can also operate as an enforcer even though he has become a major asset going forward for West Ham, as the £60k-a-week ace has made an average of 2.2 tackles per match this term in the Premier League.
His awareness of danger is also an elite quality that has helped the Irons recover from their slump in form. As per FBRef, Rice has excelled in comparison to his positional peers in the art of successful interceptions made when pitted against midfielders in Europe's top five divisions, having carried out an average of 1.75 per 90 minutes across the last 365 days, putting him in the seventh percentile for this metric.
Last year, talkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino gave an insight into why Rice is such an admired presence at the London Stadium, stating: “Declan Rice has played every game as if it’s his first and I think that’s admirable for someone so young to want to be as good as he can be and West Ham fans will tell you Declan drives that team. I think that’s a big stand out, we always know that players can have their heads turned, they can be off and agents get involved – it’s never been that with Declan."
Of course, his future at the club is in doubt, begging the question of who may come in to fill his enormous boots in the event Rice does depart West Ham this summer.
Matteo Guendouzi, James Ward-Prowse and Habib Diarra have all been linked, though it remains to be seen what the future of West Ham's midfield will look like come next term.