Declan Rice is relishing Saturday’s Premier League derby between West Ham United and Chelsea for many reasons.
The Hammers’ captain spent his early years at the Blues’ Academy, where he met his best friend and current England teammate Mason Mount, before being released at the age of 14 and joining West Ham just days later.
Ten years on, Rice is the Irons’ captain and outstanding midfield leader. He enjoyed the euphoria of skippering West Ham to a 3-2 home win over Chelsea in December 2021, then suffered the disappointment of single-goal defeats at London Stadium and Stamford Bridge in April and September last year, the latter after a late goal was controversially ruled out by a VAR review.
This weekend, both clubs need points, West Ham to climb away from the bottom three and Chelsea to justify their recent spending spree and get themselves back into the race for European qualification.
Key to the home side’s hopes will be Rice’s developing partnership with Brazilian Paquetá, which has played a big part in the east Londoners’ recent run of three wins and two draws from their last six matches in all competitions. The pair combined for Paquetá’s vital equaliser at Newcastle United last weekend and the 24-year-old is looking forward to working with the No11 again when they tackle Graham Potter’s men.
Rice also will welcome brave young Hammer Ronnie Leys, an eight-year-old who has a condition called spastic diplegia cerebral palsy, to London Stadium after being made aware of the eight-year-old’s desire to walk out with him before the game on social media.
And the captain is also spearheading the Club’s support of the Premier League’s No Room For Racism campaign, where the league and its clubs and stakeholders are working together to tackle racism on and off the pitch and promote equality, diversity and inclusion across all areas of football.
Dec, it’s Chelsea at home, which is a big game and a special one for you personally?
“Chelsea are obviously a great team and have signed some great players, both in the summer and in January. They’ve taken a bit of time to gel, but they’ve really strengthened and it’s going to be a tough game for us.
“It’s obviously a London derby, so it’s one me, the lads and all the fans are looking forward to.
“Our recent form has been really good and we’ve started to pick up some momentum. We need to win three more Premier League points on Saturday and if we could, it would be massive for us in terms of moving us away from the drop zone. We’re trying to stick together and really push for that win.”
You and Paquetá appear to be getting better and better as a pair with every game you play. How do you see it?
“My partnership with Paquetá, as you’ve seen in recent games, is really starting to form. We’re understanding each other’s game more, trusting each other, and I think you’re starting to see the real version of Lucas Paquetá now, the best version, so long may that continue.”
You’ve invited a special West Ham fan to the game on Saturday. What can you tell us about that?
“I’ve invited a little lad Ronnie to be my mascot for Saturday’s game. He has a condition which affects his legs, and his splints were covered in pictures of me. He sent me a video and it really touched me, so I sent him a message and he replied in absolute shock, which took me back.
“I have invited Ronnie and his family along so I can meet them all after the game and I hope they all have a really nice day.”
It’s also the Premier League’s No Room For Racism week of action, and you recently welcomed one of our Black pioneers, Ade Coker, who debuted for West Ham at 17 in 1971, back to the Club?
“No Room For Racism is a campaign we need to always keep a focus on. Anyone being racially abused, it is just totally wrong and out of order and there is no room for it in our game. We are doing what we can in the Premier League to eradicate it.
“It was great to meet Ade Coker when he visited Rush Green and see him and hear his experiences first-hand. What a lovely fella, and what a shame it is that he had to go through what he went through as a young player. There really is absolutely No Room For Racism.”
