What Declan Rice said about Harry Maguire two years ago is now very interesting

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West Ham are set to sign Harry Maguire after agreeing a deal in principle with Manchester United.

The east London club are set to sign the England international, and, in all honesty, this signing has had something of a mixed reception amongst the fanbase.

Some are excited by the idea of bringing in a £30m player, while others are disappointed by the prospect of signing a centre-back who has been the laughing stock of the footballing world at times over the past 18 months.

However, before judging Maguire, West Ham fans should note that one of their favourite players over the past few years – Declan Rice, is in fact a huge fan of Maguire.

Rice a fan of Maguire

The £105m midfielder spoke highly of Maguire after playing with him for England.

“He’s unbelievable. From the first time that I met Harry here, he was top – top with me and top with the lads. He’s had a tough year but I think that proves how mentally strong he actually is,” Rice said.

“From what he went through to still play games after that, he got sent off and obviously that was a tough point but we still knew how good he was. There was a lot of criticism from fans, pundits and in the media, saying is he worthy of playing for England and being Man United captain – the performance the other night (vs Czech Republic) shows you that and how he was before his injury at Man United shows you that.”

Seal of approval

If Maguire is good enough for Declan Rice, then he’s good enough for West Ham.

Rice is a good judge of character, and more importantly he’s a good judge of a player, and if he reckons Maguire is a great player, West Ham fans should very much be on board with this signing.

Of course, Maguire’s form has dipped since Rice made these comments, but as the old saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent.

Maguire could prove to be an inspired addition for West Ham.