Can Declan Rice become England's next great midfielder?
Declan Rice is 21 years old and the subject of endless questions. is he a ball-playing central defender, or is he a defensive midfielder? Can he control a Premier League match? Is he moving to a top four club? Is he England's best hope for the back half of the pitch? What will he look like in five years?
We don't have all the answers, but Rice's evolution at West Ham offers some hints of what he might become. As a RCB in 2017-18, he was an aggressive forward passer who could also carry the ball himself, but he didn't have the link-up play of the great ball-playing central defenders – more Mike van der Hoorn than Toby Alderweireld. Given these traits, a move to DM wasn't too surprising. And at his new position, this smarterscout young prospect has started to offer a broader mix of passes, with very good ball retention as well.
Over the past two seasons, his positioning behind midfield has been almost identical, but this season he hasn't been getting forward as much – more of his touches have hugged the midfield line:
That said, when Rice has gotten deeper into the attacking half this season, he's attempted more dribbles:
Rice's attacking output and ball retention have declined somewhat as a result of these changes, and his effort in defending has slackened a bit as well. But his work in possession and output off the ball continue to be very good, especially for his age:
One of Rice's main issues now – keeping in mind that he's only 21, and at a position where players typically mature later – is that the quality of his defending hasn't matched the quantity. He's a fine tackler by the standards of Premier League DMs, but his overall ability to stifle opposition moves still leaves something to be desired. He's young!
The other issue for Rice is that his playing style is pretty unusual for the Premier League. Here are the DMs of all ages from Europe's top five leagues with the most similar styles:
The closest we have here to a Premier League DM are Tanguy Ndombele, who moved from Lyon to Spurs, and Geoffrey Kondogbia, who was shopped to Premier League clubs before his move to Valencia. Both are known more as box-to-box players who can play CM as well as DM. But both also get forward much more often, providing more attacking output:
Rice hasn't had the opportunity to play this role at West Ham, and he might not elsewhere in the Premier League, either. So would a move elsewhere in Europe benefit Rice the most?
We're very much behind the idea of English players – especially those who might represent the Three Lions – getting more experience outside the Premier League. The best way to playing styles from other countries isn't to watch them on video; it's to go and play abroad. Regardless, Rice is a promising young player. It's just a question of how he'll cultivate his talent.
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[Photo: Steindy]
