James McClean rips into 'very overrated' Declan Rice as fans argue case

James McClean has ripped into former Republic of Ireland teammate Declan Rice, claiming the current England star is "overrated".

Rice was a £105m signing for Arsenal and has impressed for the Gunners over the past 12 months, narrowly missing out on winning the Premier League.

The former West Ham United midfielder has won 52 caps for England, after initially starting his international football journey with the Republic of Ireland. He played three friendlies for Ireland due to his grandparents being from Cork, in 2018 but switched to England a year later.

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Despite his progress at club level and for England, former Republic teammate McClean doesn't believe Rice is "world class". McClean - who won 103 caps - does not believe Rice can stand alongside some of the top midfielders playing at this year's Euro finals in Germany.

Speaking on RTE Sport, the Wrexham star said: “I think Declan Rice is very overrated. Don't get me wrong, I think he's a very good footballer, but the way the English media wax lyrical about him is completely over the top. For me, he's not world class.

“To me world class is someone who gets in every side in the world. I don't think he does that. I don't think he gets in the Man City side ahead of Rodri. To me Toni Kroos is world class. He dictates the game, Rodri dictates the game.

"I don't think Declan Rice does that. He's not someone who gets it on the half turn, plays passes forward. He's very good at what he does.”

When asked if Rice was a different type of player to the likes of Rodri and Kroos, McClean continued his takedown, adding: “They play the same role so why can't they do the same things? If you're going to give him this much hype and reputation, surely he should be able to do what they do. He sees danger and he puts out fires, but for the hype that surrounds him I don't think it's justified.”

James McClean played with Declan Rice for the Republic of Ireland (Image: Getty Images)

While McClean has torn into Rice, his former boss David Moyes remains a huge fan. He claimed that the Hammers were far worse off after his big-money move to Arsenal.

Speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, he said: "We conceded more goals this year because Dec could have tidied up. And I'm saying that he would have tidied up another 20% of them you know?

"When you do that, that changes results, it changes defeats into draws and different things."

Meanwhile, fans are divided on McClean's critique of Rice.

One said on Instagram: "100 per cent right. Very overrated. Looks good in a poor Arsenal midfield."

Another added: "If he had stayed with Ireland McClean would have loved him."

One RTE follower said: "What's he on about? Rice is an excellent player. He definitely showed that with Arsenal this season."

Another said "Spot on James" while one football fan added: "FFS. An average player saying a brilliant player is average."

What do you think? Let us know in the comments...

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