"I can give him some advice" - Yaya Toure says Premier League midfielder can be as good as him in due time 

Yaya Toure has lauded the West Ham midfielder.
Yaya Toure has lauded the West Ham midfielder.

Legendary Premier League midfielder Yaya Toure believes West Ham United's Declan Rice has all the tools to be as good as himself.

Toure became a Premier League legend during his time at Manchester City, where he won three league titles and was one of the EPL's leading midfielders. His imposing presence and elegance on the ball were second to none. He would more often than not dominate opposition from the middle of the park.

Toure believes Rice can be just as good as he was as speculation about the Englishman's future at club level continues.

When asked if Rice had the potential to have as big an impact as he had from an attacking aspect, Toure told The Times (via Football.London):

"Of course. He has the time for it, the knowledge. He will have to meet me because I live in London now. We can talk and I can give him some advice. I am very open to it.”

Rice has one goal and four assists in 28 Premier League appearances this season.


Declan Rice to leave West Ham for a Premier League heavyweight this summer

Rice looks set to depart West Ham in the near future
Rice looks set to depart West Ham in the near future

The 23-year-old continues to be linked with a move away from West Ham this summer. GiveMeSport reports that Rice will not sign a new deal with the Hammers amid interest from Chelsea and Manchester United.

A boyhood Blues fan, Rice was part of the Chelsea academy until he was released in 2013. The midfielder has never quite understood why he was let go. He told Gary Neville on the Overlap Podcast (via TalkSPORT):

“To this day, I still honestly don’t know the exact reason (why they let me go), I wish I did. I think it was probably down to the fact that as a kid, I was tiny, I was going through a massive growth spurt at the time."
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It seems the Blues have now realized their mistake in letting go of one of the Premier League's best midfielders. Manchester United are also interested in Rice with a new midfielder at the top of their wishlist this summer.

The Red Devils are set to part ways with Paul Pogba, whose contract with the club expires this summer. They have been in stark need of a defensive midfielder for a number of years.

But according to Evening Standard, Rice prefers a move to Chelsea. West Ham have set a fee of £150 million on the Englishman. It will be interesting to see whether both the Blues or the Red Devils are prepared to pay such a huge fee for Rice.

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Edited by Ritwik Kumar