Jamie Carragher details where West Ham star Declan Rice can improve
Jamie Carragher has claimed that he wants to see more from West Ham midfielder Declan Rice as he continues his incredible development.
Rice has been one of the Hammers’ star men this season but the former Liverpool defender has highlighted one aspect of the England international’s game that he wants to see improve.
Speaking on Sky Sports ahead of the Irons’ game against Chelsea, Carragher highlighted footage of Rice playing for England and driving forward with the ball.
He said, “This is what I want to see a bit more from him. Don’t just get pigeon-holed as ‘i sit in front of the back four’, I think he’s got more than that.
“Can he add goals to his game? He’s not going to score a lot of goals or get a lot of assists but I think he’ll do more and he’s got more in his locker than this guy who sits in front of centre backs. He’s a really good passer of the ball.”
Rice’s passing has been a joy to behold this season as, according to Wyscout, the 21-year-old has successfully completed 91.9% of his passes this year.
Carragher walked a thin line between criticising Rice, which would be unfair, and highlighting where the young midfielder can improve.
The West Ham star only has one assist to his name this season and has failed to find the net for his club so far this term but as a defensive midfielder, that isn’t really his job.
The Hammers have plenty of attacking players to choose from at the moment and Tomas Soucek, Rice’s usual midfield partner, gets forward more often as he is better going forward than defending.
Just because Rice can drive his side forward doesn’t mean that he should if he excels elsewhere on the pitch.
Rice used to be a centre back and there is a suggestion that he will play there in future so encouraging the England international to be more attacking doesn’t make much sense.
In other West Ham news, Harry Redknapp delivers verdict on West Ham’s season and recent transfer business.