Jamie Carragher has rung in talkSport to defend the criticism that West Ham’s Declan Rice has faced since turning down a new contract with The Hammers, talkSPORT reports.
The 19-year-old rose up through West Ham’s academy and is now considered one of the club’s star players.
However, The Hammers are believed to have offered the youngster a new contract which will see him earn around £12,000, a contract that Rice has turned down.
Rice, who can play in defense or defensive midfield, has been backed by Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher though who has said that he shouldn’t receive criticism for rejecting a contract that does not match his worth.
Speaking to talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham and Darren Gough the the phone-in, Carragher said:
I thought it was a bit out of order from some of the callers saying Rice was getting too big for his boots or he’s got to be careful about this or that.
But to be honest I look at him and it’s not just Declan Rice, it’s every young player who comes through at a Premier League club or any club always have to be seen to be grateful they’re playing and they can’t just ask for a bit more money.
If there was a young foreign player signed from abroad there’d be no questions about what they deserve.
I felt it when I was playing that because I was a local lad at Liverpool I had to be seen to be grateful.
Local players coming through at their football clubs are definitely treated differently financially.
This is a lad who could be West Ham’s main man over the next five or six years so I think it’s unfair he gets the criticism for not accepting the first offer he’s given.
The Drivetime duo suggested that offering Rice a higher wage could lead to a decline in form and motivation.
Goughie then proposed a moderation of the amount of wages a young player can have access to.
Carragher said:
I totally agree Goughie and I had this conversation with Brendan Rodgers when he was manager of Liverpool.
He’d been at the youth set-up at Chelsea where notoriously we heard stories about wages and that and he said ‘we’re actually paying players to fail’.
And what he meant by that is that we’re giving players so much so early that they do lose the motivation. He felt that was a big problem at Chelsea when they were there.
However, Rice has actually got himself into the West Ham team unlike those Chelsea players. Rice seems like he’s has a fantastic attitude and fingers crossed he won’t be the type to get carried away with it.
