West Ham have a major asset on their hands, valuation accurate

The 2018/19 season has been a momentous one for Declan Rice. He not only established himself as a first-team regular within the West Ham United side but also worked his way into the England national team.

Now he has been named as the fifth most valuable player aged 20 or under in the world, according to a study conducted by the CIES Football Observatory

The study added that Rice, who penned a new five year contract with the Hammers last December, is valued at round £64.2 million.

Rice has been compared by some to long-serving club captain Mark Noble and West Ham fans will certainly hope that he can go on and serve the club for as long as the veteran. He is likely to attract offers from clubs playing in the Champions League in the near future.

For now though, the London Stadium is certainly the best environment for Rice to remain in and continue to develop his game at West Ham.

Unsurprisingly, Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund and England placed first on the list as he is valued at a whopping £150.3 million. Dortmund could stand to make hefty profits on a sale of the Englishman one day as they paid Manchester City just £7 million to sign him.

Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi came in second place. The Gunners paid just £7 million to purchase from Lorient last summer but is now valued at £70 million. Other players who feature in the top ten include the likes of Nicolo Zanonio, Kai Haivertz, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Vinicius Junior, Justin Kluivert and Evan N’ Dicka.