Declan Rice puts Graeme Souness centre-back claim to bed as West Ham United creativity stat emerges
West Ham United captain Declan Rice has come under fire from Graeme Souness this season for his lack of creativity, but when diving into one particular stat, the Sky Sports pundit’s claims are quickly put to bed.
The former Liverpool legend claimed in his column for the Daily Mail (Friday 10 February) that Rice could turn into a centre-back in the coming years due to his lack of imagination in the final third when compared to the likes of Casemiro and Fernandinho.
He then admitted the Hammers midfielder wasn’t worth the British transfer record of £120million plus add-ons that talkSPORT host Jim White revealed would be needed for West Ham to sanction Rice’s exit from the club in the summer.
Now, Rice will be the first player to admit he still has areas for improvement in his game – maybe including aspects of his attacking play – but to say one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League should change position is such a strange claim.
Although Souness might not see many strings to Rice’s bow, his influence on David Moyes’ side has been highlighted by a tweet from TheOther14 (February 16).
This season, among the clubs outside the notorious top-six Premier League clubs, Rice ranks in the top ten for chances created from open play. His number of 24 chances created from the opening 23 game weeks of the season is tied with Newcastle captain Kieran Trippier and is only bettered within the club by Said Benrahma.
Below Rice in the list are the likes of Crystal Palace attacking midfielders Eberechi Eze and Wilfried Zaha, while Fulham maestro Andreas Pereira has also created two chances less.
It is clear from this simple stat the importance that Rice hold to West Ham in both attack and defence. Yes, he may go under the radar beacuse of the imperaitve defensive shifts he puts in on a weekly basis, but his attacking game has improved ten-fold in the last year.
Rice’s value to West Ham United can be whatever the club demands, as clubs throughout Europe will be bidding for his services no matter the price tag.