Declan Rice is one of the most sought-after midfielders with Arsenal and Manchester United favorites to sign him. The 24-year-old has played every midfield position for West Ham. Rice had been viewed as a deep midfielder the whole season, but now he takes the initiative moving forward. similar to that goal scored against Gent. And because of this, Rice is growing to be a very desirable choice for Europe’s elite, with attention from Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Manchester United. Without context, Rice’s figures lack much meaning. Although he has some of the greatest defensive statistics in the Premier League, the midfielder is West Ham’s most dependable offensive player.
Rice participated in 138 more attacking sequences than any other Hammers player during the just-completed regular season, and only Rodri of Manchester City carried the ball more times. However, Rice plays both a defensive and an aggressive midfielder for West Ham, as evidenced by the fact that the England midfielder leads the league in both possessions won and interceptions this season. a middleman in full operation. This is partly due to the versatile midfield Rice and Tomas Soucek play-in for the Hammers. As one player sits, the other moves and launches an attack. But never do both at once.
Last month, Arsenal target Declan Rice was active all over the pitch as the Hammers defeated Manchester United 1-0 thanks in large part to his all-around performance. In just four minutes, the midfielder intercepted a David De Gea goal kick and launched an attack while Soucek sat in a defensive position. A threatening Man Utd counterattack was stopped by Rice later in the half when Soucek was caught high up the pitch.
“The fact that both of us can cover the pitch and go everywhere is a huge benefit for our team and a really nice balance between each other,” Soucek said about Declan Rice. “We have a terrific balance between us since we can go from the defense to the attack box-to-box while each of us is aware that the other will do the same.”
The teams who are interested in him may simply emulate this collaboration. Rice and Casemiro, who each have four goals in the Premier League this season, may get along well. Joshua Kimmich, who plays for Bayern Munich, can switch between the defense and the offense. Rice can easily fit into Mikel Arteta’s lineup at Arsenal, as seen by the way Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka have increased their goal totals. Rice’s ability to transition well is another essential aspect of his game that elite teams in Europe find attractive. In the Premier League last season, only Bruno Fernandes participated in more defensive to offensive-transitional phases.
The West Ham captain is one of the best in the league at initiating assaults five seconds after gaining possession of the ball while his side is on the defensive. In the Premier League, Rice had the third-highest forward passing rate, and his regular quick thinking when launching assaults proved helpful in crucial matches. In a May match against Manchester United, Rice used a single flick to send Said Benrahma away on the left wing after blocking a shot from Antony at the brink of his own box.
He shut down Jordan Henderson on the touchline in a home match against Liverpool earlier in the year and quickly set up Michail Antonio for an attack. The finest instance was in April against Arsenal, in a match that eventually lost the Gunners their chance at the Premier League title. Rice once more pushed up in the press to win the ball from Partey and fed Lucas Paqueta in the area as West Ham trailed 2-0. Gabriel was eventually forced to give up the penalty, and the Hammers managed to salvage a 2-2 draw thanks in large part to Rice’s effort and fast delivery to Paqueta.
In the previous season, Rice was responsible for 258 more movements in which he moved the ball into advantageous locations after regaining control. Arsenal and Manchester United are drawn to this style of play since both teams get an advantage in assaults when transitional plays are used. In transition-based assaults last season, Fernandes and Marcus Rashford had the greatest and third-highest Expected Goal totals, respectively, while Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Martin Odegaard placed fourth, fifth, and ninth on the same list.
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