The Hammers boss is confident that an England international midfielder will remain in his current surroundings rather than go looking for a switch
Declan Rice continues to generate talk of interest from the likes of Manchester United, but David Moyes expects the England international to become club captain at West Ham.
A talented 21-year-old at the London Stadium has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence.
Moyes helped to put Rice on that path during his first spell as Hammers boss, with a highly-rated academy graduate given regular minutes in 2017-18.
A promising youngster who was operating in defence and part of the Republic of Ireland set-up at that stage has come a long way in a short space of time.
Rice is now one of the Premier League’s leading holding midfielders, a regular in the England fold and a player many of West Ham’s rivals would welcome the opportunity to snap up.
Moyes has conceded in the past that he may struggle to retain the services of a prized asset, but he has been given no indication that a future skipper in east London is looking for a move.
The Hammers manager told Sky Sports of Rice: “Declan will go on to be a future captain of West Ham, there’s no doubt about that.
“I can see big improvements from when I left.
“He’s now someone who is physically much better: he’s much quicker, much stronger. And he has a better understanding.
“I think he’s learning under Mark Noble the leadership side of it. He was a quiet boy when I first came to the club, but he’s developing a good personality. He’s got a lot of things to do better but as a young boy, he’s doing very well.
“So many of the young boys these days are looking to be improved by coaches but quite often it’s your own self-development as a player. You have to develop yourself, you have to understand, you have to pick things up very quickly and not always rely on you coaches to be your guide.
“Many of the great players got into a team and had to find their own way to do things. Declan’s doing that himself. He is self-developing – and he’s doing an awful lot of things which prove why he’s getting into Gareth Southgate’s England squads.”
Moyes added on the impact Rice has made at West Ham: “There are bits of his game which we are hoping he’ll improve with time, with development. But at the moment he’s taking a big role at the club.
“There’s no one better for him to look up to at this club. Mark will give him a true reflection on how he is and how the club is. He’s good that way. But Mark probably learnt from really good people in front of him over the years, he had people to look up to. You need people the young players should be aspiring to.”
Rice and West Ham will be back in action on Monday when they take in a trip to Liverpool, with Moyes’ side looking to spring a surprise against the unbeaten Premier League leaders and clamber out of the relegation zone.
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