Declan Rice scored his first goal for West Ham last Saturday as they beat Arsenal.

But it's his defensive work and anticipation that's really got people's attention. And added to maturity beyond his 20 years, it's why both Ireland and England are fighting for his international future.

Leeds and Ireland legend John Giles joined us as always on a Thursday and did not play down his praise.

"He was always going to be an outstanding player and he's proven to be an even better player than he promised to be," he said.

"First of all, he's a very good footballer. He's a very, very strong, physical lad who's playing in the middle of the field and playing very, very well.

Valuable

"Now, if you were picking him in a best position, it would be centre back. But because he's so valuable... he's a bit like Bryan Robson. I played with Bryan Robson when he was a youngster at West Brom. Robson could play anywhere - left back etc. But centre back was without question his best position.

"He could read the game well and he was a good header of the ball. He was a good tackler. But he was too valuable as a midfield player to put him in that position."

John didn't stop there when it came to his praise for Rice! The West Ham player has been linked with big money moves away from West Ham and John put a huge value on him.

"If you say he's worth €50 million, I think in 2-3 years time, he can only get better and be worth more," he said.

"I'd pay €50 million for him now!"

John also touched on Nathan Redmond's potential Ireland eligibility and feels it would be "great" if we could get both the Southampton winger and Rice.

You can listen to John Giles in full on the podcast player or watch above.

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