Newcastle United officials will have been impressed with what they saw from Declan Rice last night, as he scored a stunning goal to send West Ham through to the Europa Conference League semi finals.
In a week that Rice was linked with a summer move to Newcastle, he also scored to send West Ham to consecutive European semis.
David Moyes‘ side beat Gent 4-1 at the London Stadium, cruising through to the final four of the competition with a 5-2 win on aggregate against the Belgian side.
Declan Rice scores incredible goal against Gent
Rice scored the Hammers’ third, and it was the absolute pick of the bunch. After winning the ball back on the edge of his own box, the 24-year-old drove up the pitch with his chest pumped out like an unstoppable juggernaut. He left one player for dust and twisted and turned past another before slotting calmly into the net.
It was spectacular from Rice, who looked like prime Steven Gerrard or Yaya Toure with the way he carried possession from deep. And the finish was as cool as you like.
David Moyes blown away by West Ham captain
After the game, West Ham boss Moyes took time to praise his captain, and believes that goal proves why they value him so highly.
“He is some player, great ability and that goal just summed him up tonight,” he said.
“If anybody didn’t think that he could do that, then they’re completely naive and don’t watch close enough if that’s the case.
“He is some player and that’s why we value him so highly here.
“He is still young, he will learn a lot of things. He will play differently at times in his career. At the moment, he has got so many parts to his games and he doesn’t always show them, partly because he has got a good personality but he could show it even more, and if he does that you will see so many more aspects to his game.
“A lot of people probably think it isn’t there but let me tell you, it is there.”
Rice shows exactly what he would bring to Newcastle
His overall performance was brilliant, but that goal was truly exceptional. Rice has really evolved his game in recent years, and is continuing to get better. He is not just a ball-winning midfielder anymore, he can go box-to-box and be decisive in the final third.
That’s what he was on Thursday night, and any Newcastle fan watching will suddenly be desperate to see him do that in a black and white shirt.
It was reported earlier this week by the Telegraph that the Magpies have discussed trying to sign the England international. However, they admit that they are unlikely to get him.
Rice will cost a huge amount of money, with a recent report stating that it will be more than £80million. That would break Newcastle’s transfer record, but it would be worth it based on Thursday night’s evidence.
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