David Moyes has claimed Declan Rice is worth £150m as he hailed the Arsenal midfielder as a future England captain.
Rice completed a £105m move from West Ham last summer but Moyes has revealed he advised his former club to hold out for even more.
The England star had spent six successful seasons at West Ham, making 245 appearances for the club and helping them win the Europa Conference League less than a month before his departure.
Rice has continued to impress since arriving at the Emirates Stadium and played in every single one of Arsenal’s Premier League games last season to help the Gunners finish second, two points behind Manchester City.
Moyes has praised Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for helping Rice to improve and says his former player – who he views as a future England captain – is worth £150m.
‘Sometimes you want to take credit but Mikel has done a great job with him,’ Moyes said on talkSPORT. ‘There were things that maybe Declan wasn’t as good at but I think he’s improved.
‘He hasn’t really surprised me but I do laugh because a couple of years ago people were saying, “you’ll never get £100m for Declan”. I was saying, “no, we’ll get £150m for him”.
‘I was telling West Ham to hold out for £150m and people were saying I was off my head. But I think if you look at some of the players who have come around that price, Dec’s surpassed them and looks above them.
‘I think £100m is looking quite cheap to be honest. He’s a top boy, everyone knows that. He conducts himself brilliantly well, on and off the field.’
Moyes, who left West Ham at the end of last season, added: ‘I always saw Declan as a future England captain.
‘I’ve got no doubt that he’s probably being lined up for that, if he keeps going in this direction. He carries himself as well as Bobby Moore did and we know how respected and liked he was.’
Rice is currently in Germany preparing for England’s opening Euro 2024 fixture against Serbia on Sunday.
Despite being captaincy material, Rice was overlooked by Gareth Southgate when he named England’s vice-captain for the tournament.
Ex-Liverpool star Jordan Henderson acted as Harry Kane’s deputy since 2018 but was left out of England’s Euros squad, resulting in Kyle Walker taking over.
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