West Ham United and England midfielder Declan Rice has named former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Touré as his footballing idol.
The West Ham united is often compared to the Manchester city legend because of his style of play and his strength on the ball. The former Chelsea academy graduate has grown to be one of the best midfielders in the Premier League and Europe.
Declan Rice has been in the news for a possible transfer to Chelsea and Manchester United but West Ham United are reluctant to let their star man leave. The 23-year-old England midfielder took his game to the next level last season helping West Ham reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League.
The England international has also been a key player for the England national team and was part of the Three Lions team that reach the final of the Euro 2020 Championship. He forged a formidable partnership with Manchester City bond Kelvin Philips in the midfield.
What did Declan Rice say about idolizing Yaya Touré?
In an Exclusive interview with Goal.com, the West Ham midfielder said: “I saw his stats earlier today from 2013-14, it was like 20 goals and nine assists.
“He’s one of my favorite midfielders ever and looks like a top guy. It’d be good to meet him one day to get some advice.
“I’ve played 220 career games, which at 23 is crazy, but I want to keep learning fast and improving.”
Meanwhile, Declan Rice has revealed that he wants to improve on his goal contribution.
The England international scored 5 goals in 50 appearances last season for West Ham. Rice Believes with his talent, He can score 10 goals every season.
The England international added: “With my ability, I want to start scoring more goals.
“I’ve got five this year, but that’s still not enough. I should be hitting 10 every season. “I feel like that’s a goal for me that I should be able to hit and let’s see if I can do it.
“There’s always a part of my game that I’m trying to improve. My defensive abilities, which I’m good at, I can still get better. You could always come up against a top player that exposes that, and then you’ve got to be able to go again and improve.
“There were question marks over whether I could play in Europe against the top sides,” he adds when reflecting on his season. “I’ve done it with England, but haven’t done it at club level, so I can take that into the next stage of my career.
“I’ve shown I can play and now I can use the experience from those games.”
The West Ham midfielder added that with the current crop of players in the England National Team, the three lions have a chance of winning the World 2022 in Qatar.
Declan Rice continued: “With the squad, we’ve got, and the players coming through, we have to aim to win the World Cup.
“Obviously, we were so close in the summer, but as an England fan as well as a player, some of the players we’ve got in the squad now are scary how good they are. There are ones coming through as well that obviously want the shirt and are excellent players.
“So I feel like we’re in a good place, but that will only be realized if we go and win something major for the country.
“I feel like if we went and won in Qatar, wow, it would be the first one since 1966, so it would be massive, and I feel like no-one expects England to do it.
“So we as players, our minds are in the right place, and I feel like every time we go to a tournament now, Gareth has changed that mindset with players in terms of believing we can win it.”
