Jermain Defoe says Arsenal transfer target Declan Rice will leave West Ham United this summer so he can ‘go to the next level’.
The former striker, who is now an academy coach at Tottenham Hotspur, added that Declan Rice wants to ‘emulate’ the career of Yaya Toure.
Whilst Defoe thinks the 24-year-old has that ‘powerful’ nature to his game, he thinks there is still a long way to go for the midfielder to progress to the heights of the Manchester City legend.
It’s looking likely that Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will miss out on the Premier League title, but Champions League football will return next season, which would appeal to a player like Rice, who they could sign for £75 million.
Nonetheless, when Owen Hargreaves spoke about Rice’s future amid a ‘rumour about Arsenal’, Defoe also shared his thoughts, as he told Premier League Productions (29/04/23 at 11:55 am).
“He’s got a personality,” said Defoe. “He seems to be improving. I remember ages ago, he spoke about Yaya Toure. Looking at Yaya’s game and how he can emulate that. Obviously, he has a long way to go, in terms of that level.
“But, at the same time, he is an amazing player. Powerful. The only negative is that he probably needs more goals and assists. He is brilliant. Always has a smile on his face.
“I didn’t realise how dynamic he is – we speak about the Yaya’s getting you up the pitch, but he is so powerful when he does that – It looks like he will be gone in the summer. To be available to play every game, that’s big for managers.
“The West Ham fans will appreciate that (Rice having to go to the next level). For a young player at 24, what a chance for him now to go somewhere and kick on and go to the next level because the sky is the limit.”
CAN RICE TAKE ARSENAL TO THE NEXT LEVEL?
That’s what Arsenal have to think when they dip into the market ahead of the summer transfer window.
Players like Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus have taken them to the next level, it’s just not that Premier League title that they were craving.
The next set of players coming through have to provide that, and whilst Rice has no trophies to his name or hasn’t even played Champions League football, many will question if he has the qualities to do that.
But the likes of Andy Robertson, Virgil van Dijk, Gini Wijnaldum, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, to name a few, weren’t title winners or Champions League regulars when they first joined Liverpool, before winning it all.
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