Declan Rice ‘clearly the best’ as Tim Sherwood earmarks West Ham United man for solo international role
West Ham midfielder Declan Rice has been earmarked to perform a solo role in England’s midfield by former Premier League manager Tim Sherwood.
The midfielder has often featured in a midfield two for the Three Lions and formed a good partnership with Kalvin Phillips during the European Championships in the summer of 2021.
However, the former Tottenham and Aston Villa manager believes Rice is good enough feature in a three man midfield where he is the only defensive minded player selected.
Talking on talkSPORT Breakfast, [09:16, 9 June], Sherwood said: “I think England need one pivot and I would go with one six, which is Declan Rice.
“He is clearly the best defensive midfield player we have, he knows his limitations and is a great team player and then have two eights either side of him.”
Southgate has to do it
Having Rice in the side is almost like a free pass for Southgate to be more expansive for England, but he consistently opts for a more conservative and measured approach.
The West Ham midfielder’s ability means it is almost like having two players on the pitch when he is playing and Southgate simply has to experiment with more attacking players featuring for England.
England did well to come within touching distance of the European Championship trophy last summer, but who knows what could’ve been if Southgate had been slightly more attack minded during the competition and final in particular.
There is no doubt that England reached the final due to their immense defence resolve, however, their reluctance to take the game to an Italian side who were there for the taking was potentially the reason they lost the final at Wembley.
Southgate has to appreciate the talent that Rice possesses and entrust him to remain a midfield lynchpin regardless other whether he has a midfield partner or not.
In other West Ham news, the traditions of pre-season at the Hammers could be under threat as London Stadium works could see the annual game postponed.
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