Declan Rice has a big future ahead of him.
The Republic of Ireland international is expected to play a prominent role in Martin O’Neill’s side’s bid to reach Euro 2020, having made an instant impression in his first few outings.
Last year was a breakout season for the 19-year-old at the club level, too, making 26 Premier League appearances for West Ham.
Rice’s time under new Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini has got off to a rocky start, however, as the versatile defender/midfielder was hooked off at half-time following a difficult 45 minutes at Anfield.
West Ham fell 2-0 behind before the interval as Jurgen Klopp’s men asserted their dominance from the outset in their opening Premier League game of the season. Pellegrini’s response was to replace Rice with Robert Snodgrass.
The 30-year-old Scotland international spent last season on loan at Aston Villa having fallen out of favour under Slaven Bilic but appears to be part of the Chilean’s plans.
Deployed in defensive midfield – where he has shone for Ireland – Rice struggled with the pace of Liverpool’s passing and the intensity of their pressing.
Of course, Mark Noble, playing alongside the young Irishman, also endured a first-half to forget, so it could be said that taking Rice off was somewhat harsh from the former Manchester City manager.
The 64-year-old has won a Premier League title, though, so I’m in no position to question his judgement.
Rice was not a happy bunny. The Sky Sports cameras happened to catch a glimpse of the youngster looking less than pleased behind Pellegrini on the West Ham bench.
“Declan Rice is not a happy man,” noted Sky’s commentary team. As you can see from the image below, Rice did not look overly thrilled at the prospect of watching the second half from the bench.
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