Graeme Souness has revealed that he thinks Chelsea target Declan Rice is not a top player as Todd Boehly eyes a club-record deal.
The 70-year-old made the comments on talkSPORT.
So, what did Graeme Souness say about Declan Rice in full? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Well, it was Graeme Bailey – a respected journalist – who claimed that Chelsea are willing to meet West Ham’s £120m asking price for the England international.
If a deal happened, it would surpass Chelsea’s £106.8m signing of Enzo Fernandez as the record arrival at Stamford Bridge.
However – if an agreement did materialise – it appears Souness would not approve of the price given his views on Rice.
He told Jim White on talkSPORT: “If you’re looking for a top midfield player, I don’t think he has enough cute passing in him to be that. He’d be great to work with, extremely athletic, senses danger, so he’s got that part of a central midfield player.
“What he doesn’t have is the cute and clever passes when he gets in the last third. I think he’s a little bit predictable on the ball, personally.”
Souness makes a fair point.
Rice is among the best in Europe when it comes to defensive numbers, but going forward, he averaged just one key pass per game in the Premier League last season – as WhoScored shows.
Enzo Fernandez would compliment Declan Rice at Chelsea
Sometimes – even if they cost £120m – a player cannot be expected to do everything alone.
The important thing is that Rice excels when it comes to being a defensive midfielder – in fact, he is probably the best in Europe right now.
Where the 24-year-old falls short, as Souness states, is the creative side of the game, although in Enzo Fernandez, he would have a midfield partner who thrives at that, so the pair would become the perfect duo.
Be sure to keep an eye on Rice’s situation, as he looks set to leave West Ham this summer.
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