West Ham prove Rice theory wrong as ex Man Utd ace makes Bowen transfer point

The Hammers have started the new Premier League season in excellent form with wins over Chelsea and Brighton putting them fourth in the table after four games

Paul Ince says West Ham are proving that they were never a one-man team with Declan Rice with the superb form they have shown at the start of the new season.

The Hammers sold midfielder and captain Rice to Arsenal this summer for £105million, with question marks raised over how David Moyes and the club's hierarchy would go about replacing such a key cog in their team.

But if West Ham's start to the season is anything to go by, they've clearly done a good job. The Irons are fourth in the Premier League and are one of four sides, along with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, with ten points from the first four games.

The fixture list hasn't exactly been kind, either. Two of West Ham's wins this season have come against Chelsea and Brighton, with the latter seeing the club get their first top-flight victory over the Seagulls in 13 attempts.

Summer signing James Ward-Prowse has thrived in midfield, while Mexico international Edson Alvarez is also beginning to find his feet in claret and blue following his £35million move from Ajax.

Mohammed Kudus, also signed from Ajax this summer, will no doubt bring even more quality to Moyes' midfield, though competition for places will be difficult given how many players are performing right now.

Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio have all hit the ground running for the new campaign and it's clear to Ince, who came through West Ham's academy and played 95 times for them before joining Manchester United in 1989, that Rice wasn't as instrumental to the club's success as many thought.

"It was never all on Declan Rice,"