Declan Rice to Manchester United a Bad Investment?
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| Image from the Daily Mail |
West Ham ace, Declan Rice has been heavily linked with Manchester United for quite some time now. Once a hot topic among fans, the interest has cooled a bit as of now.
Recently, former England international Darren Bent said to The Football Insider,
“I think West Ham will be able to hold onto him, It is a difficult one with Declan Rice because he is a very good player and it’s a position where a lot of people are looking for the next superstar to play in there. He’s well coveted, is Declan Rice, but I’d like to see West Ham keep hold of him for another year, if not longer, and then maybe after go. It’d be nice to see Declan Rice play another season there and do really well.”
“I think West Ham will be able to hold onto him, It is a difficult one with Declan Rice because he is a very good player and it’s a position where a lot of people are looking for the next superstar to play in there. He’s well coveted, is Declan Rice, but I’d like to see West Ham keep hold of him for another year, if not longer, and then maybe after go. It’d be nice to see Declan Rice play another season there and do really well.”
Last season's Player's Player of the Year for West Ham, Declan Rice has had a fine season under David Moyes. Valued at a mouth watering £80m, does he have the skills in his locker to justify that price tag though?
The arrival of Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon has brightened the horizons at Old Trafford and has made a huge impact both on and off the pitch. The squad looks in a much better shape going towards the business end of the season when football restarts. It has to be noted that when Manchester United were on the lookout for Rice they had a very weak squad compared to now. The midfield was a crisis back then with Jesse Lingard and Andreas Periera putting up infuriating performances and Fred and Matic were well out of form. The resurgence of Matic, along with Fred's revitalised performances has sealed up any holes in the midfield,which was evident when the Red Devils last scouted for Declan. Manchester United has come a long way from there. And with Pogba looking to make an impact on his comeback, Ole seems to have a surplus of options on his hands. It is also worth mentioning that both Dylan Levitt and James Garner has been knocking on Ole's door with impressive spells for the under 23s.
Fred has been a revelation this season. With Manchester United likely to phase out Matic slowly, Fred looks naturally destined to take that central CDM role from him, along with Pogba at his side and Bruno upfront. And as it is, Declan Rice will surely have to oust Fred to cement his position in the first team. But how does he compare with Fred?
With 29 appearances for The Hammers in the league, Declan has been good enough to keep up to his reputation. He has averaged almost 45 passes per match with a completion rate of 86%, which is inferior to what Fred has offered for the Red Devils - 61 passes per match with 85% completion rate.
Fred also holds the upper hand with a total of 1878 touches, 1365 carries, 78% dribble success this season compared to Declan's 1578 touches, 1036 Carries and dribble success of 78.5%. The Brazilian who is often criticised for not being reliable enough defensively has almost the same tackle success as Declan, a holding Midfielder- 52% and 53% respectively. It is amusing to note that Fred is not an anchorman or a holding Midfielder like Declan, but more of a nuisance player causing much trouble to the opposition in terms of high pressurising and high tempo play. Inspite of that Fred boasts similar defensive success to Declan.
Every transfer that a club makes has bound to make a positive impact on their play and thus bring better results on the pitch. It is as simple as that. Any thing else is what you call a 'flop'. And it fairly seems like Declan Rice doesn't offer anything much more than the Brazilian. So is there any logic in Manchester United dishing out 60-80 million pounds on a transfer which evidently doesn't increase the quality of the side? And most importantly, will the owners of Manchester United be willing to pay this hefty sum for Declan Rice, considering the fact that there is a huge interest in Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham, which are more likely to go through.
Super bro��
ReplyDeleteWith United currently on the lookout for bright up and coming players in the market, it doesn’t require a rocket scientist to figure out that Rice would be an ideal long-term investment for the Red Devils for a number of reasons.
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