Sublime stat shows West Ham United captain Declan Rice is best in Premier League in his position
West Ham United captain Declan Rice has had an up-and-down start to the Premier League season but a new statistic suggests he’s been doing his role well.
Rice has turned his season and West Ham’s around in recent weeks and the club are back on track to achieve great things yet again.
So it will come as no surprise to Hammers that their captain has been putting in solid numbers, he’s currently the best in the Premier League in one statistic.
Football’s largest detailed football statistics website WhoScored have had its say on Rice, providing Hammers with an interesting stat that backs their main man as the best in his position.
“Declan Rice has won possession in the midfield third more times than any other player in the Premier League this season (49).”
It looks like Rice has been doing his job just fine, despite the critics over his performances this season.
Key cog.
Despite his apparent slow start to the season, the silky stat highlights that Rice is doing what he needs to do for the team and that’s winning back possession.
Obviously, in the modern game fans want goals and glitzy passes from their star talents but this isn’t Rice’s game and sometimes fans need to remember that.
If Rice did leave the club, it would be interesting to see how the engine room at the London Stadium would suffer, something tells me the drop-off would be quite big, perhaps catastrophic.
That’s not to say he is the finished product, he’s still got a lot to learn but he’s become a crucial cog in David Moyes’ Hammers setup and the club will want to keep him forever.
He’s only going to improve and adapt as the seasons progress and West Ham United will keep looking to benefit from this latest bone-crunching stat.