By Pranav Shahaney

5th Oct, 2022 | 6:40pm

West Ham midfielder Declan Rice banters Leeds United starlet Sonny Perkins on Instagram

West Ham midfielder Declan Rice had a joke with his former teammate and Leeds United youngster Sonny Perkins on Instagram.

Perkins continued his phenomenal goal-scoring record since moving to Elland Road as he bagged another goal for the Under-21s as they beat Tranmere Rovers 5-3 on Tuesday night.

The 20-year-old then took to Instagram to share an image from the game to which many players, including the £100million-rated Rice responded.

Rice wrote on Instagram, “Stop looking for the camera man.”

Perkins responded, “I know you love it.”

Red-hot form

Perkins scored his 13th goal in nine matches in all competitions for club and country since moving to Elland Road and that’s the sort of start he would have wanted.

For the average Leeds fan, they had signed a 20-year-old from West Ham who had the potential to do special things, but nobody expected him to hit the ground running in this manner.

He’s now giving Jesse Marsch a major selection dilemma as it’s hard not to look at him as a first-team option off the bench.

Perkins is a nine but can also play in the hole behind the striker and can also play as a second striker – so he does give the option to change things.

He’s already made his senior debut for West Ham in the Europa League so it should not be too big a jump for him to play in the Carabao Cup or even the Premier League.

It still seems like Willy Gnonto is ahead of the Englishman in the pecking order but things can change ever so quickly, especially given Perkins’ red-hot form.

In other Leeds United news, a Sky Sports pundit has reacted to the ‘Awful’ footage that has emerged from the Aston Villa contest.