David Moyes praises Declan Rice as West Ham academy graduate shines vs Southampton

Moyes hailed Rice's versatility
REUTERS

David Moyes has hailed the versatility of Declan Rice after the academy graduate put in one of his best showings in a West Ham shirt during the 3-0 win over Southampton.

The visitors, under the guise of new manager Mark Hughes, didn’t manage a single shot until nearly 50 minutes into Saturday's must-win Premier League clash at London Stadium.

Even then the Saints never looked like scoring as Rice, filling in for the injured James Collins, kept things tight at the back alongside Angelo Ogbonna and Aaron Cresswell

Rice’s performance will have been appreciated by the onlooking Martin O’Neill and Gareth Southgate, both vying for his international allegiance.

In Pictures | West Ham vs Southampton | 31/03/2018

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The 19-year-old has played for Republic of Ireland, but only in friendlies - that means an England call-up is still a possibility, with Three Lions officials keeping a keen eye on the youngster.

Both managers will have been impressed from the stands, but none more so than the man in the home dugout.

"He’s a young centre-half, I’ve said before centre-half is probably the hardest position to play in the Premier League, especially when you’re young, because of the quality of the strikers and the variations of the teams you’ll play," Moyes said.

"He’s done a really good job, had bits of football all season, if we hadn’t had an injury to Ginge today he would have played in midfield, so we’ve not said that that’s what he is yet - he capable of playing in midfield or at the back.

"I thought he had a great game at the back and did a great job today."

Of Rice's international preference, Moyes added: "Well because it was a friendly he can still play [for England], my understanding is he’s going for Ireland.

"I’ve not heard anything else at the moment but I thought he played really well today. I thought he gave us a little bit of mobility."

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