Sheringham would pay £160m for West Ham’s treasure. Is Rice really that valuable?

Former outstanding striker Teddy Sheringham, who also donned the West Ham jersey, has no doubt that even £160m would be a good investment for Declan Rice. Strong words indeed from a legend of English football. But how do they match reality?

Rice has been with the Hammers since 2013, when he swapped Chelsea’s academy for West Ham. He has worked hard, which has led him to the first team, for which he has already kicked 176 games. And that’s all he can boast at the age of 23.

The reliable defensive midfielder has scored a total of 9 goals in a Hammers jersey and added 9 assists. However, he managed to score almost half of them this season, scoring 4 goals and assisting 4 more in 31 games. Really great stats for a player who is primarily supposed to break up opponents’ attacks.

With Rice, coaches have to value one thing above all and that is steady performances. If I exaggerate slightly, you simply won’t see an English midfielder give a bad performance. He just alternates good performances with great ones in games. And for a 23-year-old player, that’s something you really don’t see enough of.

“I would compare him to Steven Gerrard. Not many people can cover as much ground as Declan. Add to that great passing, a flair for the game and a desire to win, you can see how much he loves the game and how he wants to keep improving when you watch him on the pitch,” the former England striker said of Rice in an interview with Genting Casino.

You can’t disagree with Sheringham. Rice is loved by the coaches, the fans and if his health is good, he can undoubtedly do great things. In England, Manchester United in particular are associated with his name and have reportedly been very interested in his services for some time now.

But could this potential transfer really cost the Red Devils £160 million? That would make him the second most expensive player in history after Neymar, by the way.

“For me, Rice is one of the best midfielders in the world at the moment. I think Moyes said something like he has a 100million pound player. But I’d definitely want more for him. If Tottenham wanted £200million for their best striker, why can’t Rice be worth £150million, £160million? ” offers Sheringham’s explanation.

Rice and his current fair price

The world’s most expensive midfielder remains Paul Pogba, for whom Manchester United (2016/17 season) paid just under £95m. The most expensive transfer this season is then Jack Grealish, who joined Manchester City for just under £106m.

So Rice’s price tag could definitely be around £100-130 million at the moment, with the lower end being more realistic.

The London native is under contract with West Ham until 2024, with the Hammers able to exercise an option for another year. So there’s plenty of time to sort out his future, and given the ever-increasing prices, it’s actually not at all out of the question that Rice won’t actually leave for £160 million or more in a year or two.

Source: Goal, Genting Casino, Transfermarkt,