John Terry sends "best in world" message to West Ham star Declan Rice

John Terry has labelled Declan Rice as the 'best in the world' following another stellar display at the heart of West Ham 's midfield.

Rice has enjoyed a stunning start for the Hammers and played a key role as his side ran out 3-2 winners over Liverpool at the London Stadium.

An Alisson own goal and goals from Pablo Fornals and Kurt Zouma earned David Moyes' men a win which saw them leapfrog their opponents to move up to third in the Premier League title.

Much of the focus pre-match was on Rice and how the England star would contend with the likes of Fabinho, Henderson and Thiago.

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But the England international reinforced his credentials as one of the Premier League's best with yet another commanding display.

Rice continues to leave Chelsea regretting their decision to release the midfielder when he was just 14 years of age.

The Blues cut ties with Rice when he was just 14, citing a lack of physicality, his inability to nail down one position and the arrival of other players in his position.

Eight years on and the 22-year-old would arguably walk into Chelsea's midfield with club legend Terry claiming he is currently "the best in his position in world football".

Jack Wilshere was also full of praise for his former team-mate, offering an insight into his influence on the buzzing Hammers squad.

"Look at the stats, he has everything," the ex-West Ham and England star said. First in everything. What he does off the ball physically, the numbers he can reach.

"A big part of his game which has improved is his technical game; he picks the ball up, he drives through midfield and he's a real character - he's a leader and you can see that on the pitch in the way he plays."

Wilshere continued: "When I was there training, my only surprise with him was that he doesn't score enough goals - he knows that.

"He can finish with his left foot, right foot, he's the best finisher at the club for me and he's trying to improve that.

"He's working hard at it and I think that comes with confidence as well and he's starting to get there."

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West Ham will likely need to secure a place in the Champions League to retain Rice and Moyes is urging his stars to do all they can to secure a top-four finish.

"We can challenge the top four but whoever they are I want to see if we can give us an opportunity, we missed out on Champions League football by two points so why can we not be there? We are not getting carried away but it is feeling good at the moment.

"This result shows that we're really in with a good chance of challenging for the top places."