Declan Rice played his first match at centre back for two years against Wolves at the weekend and slotted back in seamlessly to the defensive four.
Rice hasn’t played at the back for the Hammers since a final day victory over Everton at London Stadium at the end of the 2017/18 when David Moyes was coming to the end of his first spell at the helm.
The arrival of Manuel Pellegrini saw Rice pushed into a defensive midfield role, where he has excelled ever since and has earned a regular England call up as a result of his performances in the middle of the park.
But an injury to Angelo Ogbonna and Moyes’ distrust of Paraguayan centre half Fabian Balbuena saw Rice drop back into centre half for the loss to Wolves, where he played well despite the result.
Rice came through the Hammers ranks as a centre back, skippering the side from defence as the under-23s earned promotion to Division One of Premier League Two three years ago before his ball playing ability was harnessed into a midfield role.
Ogbonna is a doubt for West Ham’s trip to Spurs on Tuesday so Rice is set to deputise once again for the Italian alongside Issa Diop and will be looking for a crucial clean sheet in the Hammers’ quest for survival.
Rice’s performance on Saturday led to Moyes to make a big, but perhaps entirely fair, claim about the 21-year-old in his pre-match press conference on Monday.
“Declan could arguably be my best centre half and best midfielder so we have to try and see what we have got, what is fit and available and use him the best we can,” the manager said.
“We know he can give us something else in midfield but he showed he is also defensively sound when he goes into the backline.
“He has improved so much, going forward for himself and for us it is a great thing to have.”
Rice has been linked with a move away from West Ham for more than a year after his breakthrough mto the first team with former club Chelsea and Manchester United regularly keeping tabs on him.
West Ham don’t want to sell their prized asset unless a price tag of £70million-plus is met but if the Hammers are relegated this season then they will have no choice but to cash in.
Not that Moyes is even thinking about that with eight Premier League games to go and with his team sitting outside the relegation zone by just three goals with Bournemouth occupying the third relegation spot.
“He is a West Ham player, I want him to stay a West Ham player for a long time and our intention is to stay in the Premier League so nothing is crossing my mind about being in another league,” Moyes said.
