West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice feels he could handle playing in central defence if manager David Moyes needed him to and has not ruled out dropping into the position later in his career.
The academy recruit started his senior career as a defender, but was pushed up to midfield to play the role of a central midfielder, where he has since earned plaudits.
Rice insists that he is comfortable playing as a defender and would be able to quickly slot into the role if Moyes wants to deploy him there.
The midfielder admits he could well see himself dropping back to central defence later in his career and told West Ham's official site: “It’s a tough one because I’ve played virtually every game in the last two seasons in midfield, but I have played at centre-half as well.
"The good thing is I’m comfortable at centre-half and, if the manager asked me to play there, I’d have no problem at all and be confident playing back there.
"At the moment, I’m playing in midfield, everything’s around me and I’m learning that position, but maybe in the future I could see myself going back to centre-half, for sure, as I get stronger and a bit better on the ball.
"At the moment, I’m playing in midfield so I’m keeping it open but I’d never rule it out that maybe I could go back there one day.”
Rice has now reached the 100-appearance mark in a West Ham shirt and fans will be looking for him to get another century of appearances under his belt.
The Englishman has been linked with a move away from West Ham and the club could struggle to keep hold of him if they suffer relegation to the Championship this season.
