Former Netherlands international Ruud Gullit has made a bold claim about Declan Rice’s club and international career.
The West Ham United star has been linked with a move away from the club for the past two years, though no transfer has ever materialised as the midfielder has stayed committed to the project at the Irons.
One club, in particular, he has been rumoured to join is Chelsea. Rice has links with the club having progressed through the academy ranks for eight years at Cobham. He then moved to West Ham in 2014.
The 23-year-old is regarded as one of the most complete defensive midfielders in Europe currently and continued to impress whilst representing England at the World Cup. He is one of Gareth Southgate’s most trusted lieutenants, having started every match of the Three Lions’ campaign.
However, Gullit believes that the national team would be more successful if they had more players joining the top clubs in the Premier League.
He said (via Daily Express): “England has been prematurely eliminated at this tournament despite a wonderful performance against France. They played really well but again they could not survive. With the Premier League, England has the most beautiful and biggest league in the world, but the five biggest clubs do not have English internationals playing in the most crucial positions. This is killing the national team – there should be England players there, as they then get used to winning big trophies all the time. You win more with the bigger clubs.”
Gullit had also named five players who ‘summed up’ the problem he described; Jordan Pickford, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Declan Rice and Harry Kane. He suggested they are “not playing at high enough levels or playing frequently enough”.
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