West Ham United have secured the future of another young Hammer, with Declan Rice signing a new three-and-a-half-year deal.
Delighted to sign on the dotted line
Rice has been one of hottest talents in the Hammers academy, having signed from Chelsea as a youngster and making his debut for the under-18's in 2014.
He has been excellent for Terry Westley's U23's side having been made captain at the end of the season, and was on the bench for the senior side in the 4-1 win over Swansea City on Boxing Day.
The deal will keep him at the London Stadium until 2020, and he shared his delight at signing a new deal with the Hammers.
“I’m delighted to have been rewarded with a new contract,” Rice told whufc.com. “It has been an amazing season for me, I think I’ve kicked on and progressed."
“I’m happy now that the contract has been signed," the defender stated to the club's website. "I can just focus on trying to improve even more."
“After the season I’ve had," Rice stated when reminiscing about his season. "Being on the bench for the first team and captaining the U23s in every game, it’s been amazing."
"I’ve trained with the first team quite a bit as well," he added. "That makes me want to kick on even more.”
Returning to the international stage
The 18-year-old's talents and performances certainly haven't gone unnoticed, as he has gone on to represent Republic of Ireland at youth level.
He has been a regular with the U19's which earned a call-up for the U21's at the age of 17, and ahead of the U19's European Championships he is looking forward to representing his nation once again.
"I got my first call up for the U21s a couple of months ago," he said about his international career. "That was a great experience to be with a different set of lads and learn from coaches who have a different style."
“We’ve got the Euros with the U19s coming up next month," Rice concluded. "I haven’t been with them in a while so I cannot wait to play with them again.”