Declan Rice isn’t the one footballer in his family, with cousin Finley Munroe securing a giant January move on Thursday.
20-year-old Munroe began his profession within the Chelsea academy, just as Rice did, before leaving London for Aston Villa in 2021.
He made two appearances for the Villains, together with his debut within the UEFA Conference League semi-final at Olympiacos, while he also made an outing within the Premier League.
Munroe spent last season on loan in Spain with Real Union after which the primary half of this campaign with League Two Swindon Town where he has been impressive.
Championship promotion challengers Middlesbrough clearly liked what they saw and have snapped him up from Aston Villa for a fee, reportedly around £300,000.
On Munroe’s Instagram post celebrating his move to the Riverside Stadium, his England international cousin commented: ‘Go time cuz! Happy with you!’
Rice wasn’t the one big name to chime in, with Chelsea legend John Terry adding: ‘Good Luck mate 👊🏻❤️’
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On his move north to Middlesbrough, the talented full-back said: ‘I’m really blissful to be here. It’s a proud moment for me and my family and I can’t wait to start.
‘The scale of the club speaks for itself. It’s an enormous club with aspirations of getting back into the Premier League and that attracted me, as did the fanbase and every part about it. I’m excited to get going.’
On having a cousin who’s classed amongst one of the best on this planet, he said: ‘In all fairness I feel watching him is de facto good for me simply to see what he’s able to, then I can know what I’m able to.
‘I don’t speak to him an excessive amount of about it, but I just ride the journey by myself.’
Munroe was filled with praise for Swindon Town and their manager, the previous QPR, Blackpool, Crystal Palace, Leicester City and others boss Ian Holloway.
‘It’s a terrific club, I can’t speak highly enough about it,’ he said. ‘I loved all my time there and I wish them nothing but one of the best, I hope they get promotion this season.
‘He’s a terrific guy and I’ll respect him for the remainder of my life.’
The brand new Boro man also hailed the education he received at Chelsea, believing it’s the best place to start out as a teen.
‘I used to be there from Under-9s all of the technique to Under-16s, I feel as an individual wanting to be a footballer there’s no higher place to grow up and get taught,’ he said.
‘So I feel for me that was one of the best start of my profession, then moving to Villa really helped.’
Munroe joins Kim Hellberg’s side, which sits second within the Championship table after 26 games, six points behind leaders Coventry City.
It’s a packed race for the play-off spots at this stage, with just six points separating Boro and ninth-place Wrexham.
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