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Carlton Cole believes that West Ham United’s academy is back doing what it does best after the emergence of Declan Rice, per the Daily Mail.
What’s the word?
Rice has emerged as a genuinely elite central midfielder in east London this season under the management of Manuel Pellegrini.
Rice has made 36 appearances in all competitions, enjoying excellent displays against the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United.
His performances have been such that he has been recognised by England boss Gareth Southgate, who handed the 20-year-old his international debut in the Euro 2020 qualifying win over the Czech Republic in March. After coming on as a substitute in that game, he played 90 minutes in the 5-1 thumping of Montenegro.
And Cole, who is currently working with the club’s Under-18 team, is excited by his development, with the former Hammers striker confident that more brilliant youngsters can come through the academy system at the London Stadium.
He said: “West Ham went a bit stale for a good few years. The last person to properly make it was Jack Collison or James Tomkins.
“Zavon Hines did okay. Freddie Sears has gone and made a good career for himself elsewhere. After that it went stale. It is hard to make it in the Premier League.
“Now, you can see the likes of Declan Rice, Grady Diangana, and recently Ben Johnson who made a first team debut up at Manchester City, which was a very proud moment.
“We have a few good younger boys – Conor Coventry we’re hoping to feed in soon. There is a lot going on at West Ham and these are exciting times with our new state of the art facilities down at Chadwell Heath.”
A shining example
Rice is perhaps the best young player currently in his position in England.
It is remarkable that he has risen as he has under Pellegrini, making the first-team his home and becoming an England international after switching allegiance from the Republic of Ireland.
It remains to be seen how high he can go.
Reports have linked Rice with a mega-money move away from West Ham; Manchester City are regularly touted as potential suitors.
One thing is for sure. There is a great deal of money to be made from academy graduates.
West Ham will be harvesting a particularly excellent crop when Rice eventually moves on, and they will be hoping Cole is right, and that he truly is the first of many.