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, although no transfer has ever materialized as the midfielder has remained committed to the project at the Irons.
One club, in particular, that has been rumored to join is Chelsea. Rice has ties to the club having progressed through the academy ranks over eight years at Cobham. He then moved to West Ham in 2014.
The 23-year-old is considered one of the most complete defensive midfielders in Europe today and continued to impress while representing England at the World Cup. He is one of Gareth Southgate’s most trusted lieutenants, having started every game of the Three Lions campaign.
Gullit thinks about the current problem of the national team
However, Gullit believes that the national team would be more successful if it had more players at the top clubs in the Premier League.
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He said (via Daily Express): “England have been eliminated early from this tournament despite a wonderful performance against France. They played very well, but again they couldn’t survive. With the Premier League, England has the biggest and most beautiful league in the world, but the five biggest clubs don’t 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 earn more with the biggest clubs.”
Gullit also named five players who “summed up” the problem he described; Jordan Pickford, Harry Maguire, John Stones, Declan Rice, and Harry Kane. He suggested that “they’re not playing at high enough levels or playing often enough.”
