West Ham are on the verge of unearthing their next Rice & Lampard
West Ham have had many players come through the ranks with extreme hype, labelled the next Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, or even Bobby Moore.
However, living up to such high expectations is never easy, setting an unrealistic representation for fans before they have even kicked a ball at senior level. We have seen this on many occasions, where the pressure is too much for young shoulders, and can have a negative effect on the player.
One player who failed to live up to the hype at West Ham was academy graduate Reece Oxford, who was seen as the cream of the crop.
However, now Oxford finds himself at Augsburg in Germany, whilst Declan Rice, who came through the academy at a similar time, is now playing for Arsenal.
Declan Rice's time at West Ham
Declan Rice made 32 appearances for the West Ham U21 side, having been released by Chelsea in 2013 for allegedly ‘being too small’. Strange, right?
The now towering midfield figure of Rice then broke into the senior squad at West Ham in 2017, making his debut against Burnley on the last day of the 2016/17 campaign.
The English midfielder went on to make 245 appearances for the Hammers, scoring 15 goals, providing 13 assists, and totaling 20,580 minutes played.
Rice became club captain in 2022, skippering the side to their first major honour in 43 years, and won “Hammer of the year” three times in 2020,2022, and 2023. The England international was then sold in 2023, joining Arsenal for a huge fee of around £105m.
So, how have they set about replacing him? The likes of Edson Alvarez and Carlos Soler have arrived but the solution may well lie in the academy.
West Ham's next Declan Rice
West Ham already have an extremely talented midfielder emerging through the ranks, who could take over the mantle left by Rice.
The name is Lewis Orford, a young talent who has made 91 appearances for the U21 and U18 sides combined, scoring 19 goals, providing 29 assists, and totaling 6,985 minutes played.
The 18-year-old has already been described as a player who is “beyond his years” by journalist John Brewin, noting that the youngster reminds him of both Rice and Michael Carrick.
Goals + Assists
0.16
Progressive Carries
2.59
Progressive Passes
6.62
Passes into Final Third
6.60
Tackles
2.22
Blocks
1.20
Interceptions
1.63
Aerials Won
0.95
These are the metrics Rice put up in his final season with the Hammers, and the sort of numbers they are looking to replace. Orford has the quality on the ball to produce these high progressive passing and carrying numbers, whilst still putting in the defensive shift, completing tackles and interceptions in the middle of the park.
Brewin has previously spoken of Orford’s ability to also arrive in the box and take shots, which is similar to another academy graduate in Lampard. This would certainly add extra goal threat from midfield, and long shot ability in order to score goals, or win corners from deflected/saved strikes.
West Ham have been looking to replace Rice, making big midfield signings such as Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse, and Guido Rodriguez, but they could have the heir to his throne right there in the academy set up.
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