Declan Rice has all the tools to become a world class player, according to his former West Ham teammate Sebastien Haller.
The Ivory Coast striker ended his one-and-a-half-year spell with the Hammers to join Ajax in a club record £20.25million deal in January.
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During his time in east London, Haller played alongside Rice, who has been an ever-present in David Moyes’ midfield this season.
And Haller hailed the England midfielder’s influence at the London Stadium, saying Rice has ‘everything’ to reach the top.
“He has everything,” Haller said of Rice as he joined talkSPORT on Tuesday morning. “He’s still really young.
“He’s a good captain, and he’s technically good and strong.
“I can easily say that during my one-and-a-half years he was the top two most important players in the team, because he recovered a lot of balls and was really important for the team.
“The only thing I can wish him is to be a world class player, because he has the potential.”
Haller scored 14 goals in 54 appearances after joining West Ham for £45m from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2019.
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Following Moyes’ appointment as Hammers boss for a second time in December 2019, Haller played second fiddle to Michail Antonio for large parts of his time at the London Stadium.
And he has regrets about how his stint in England panned out.
Haller added: “Maybe I wasn’t in the best moment of my career. Maybe things were quite difficult for me and maybe the set-up was not perfect and it was not the right time.
“I never blame one thing, it’s just the situation that you need to understand and see.
“It was really frustrating to see those games coming and getting no goals. I also had the feeling that I couldn’t really find the perfect place on the pitch or anticipate what my partner will do.”
He continued: “I never usually look back with regrets, but of course I feel frustrated because I left without finishing something and that’s a bad feeling.
“You have no choice and you have to look forward. I think it was the right moment to leave.”
Haller has rediscovered his goalscoring touch in the Eredivisie with five goals in his first nine games.
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