Declan Rice: Worth It?

I've published pieces on potential wildcard players that may suit United, but now it's time to overview unarguably the main defensive midfield target. At only 22 years old, Declan Rice is already an integral mainstay within both the West Ham and England midfield. Whilst still a teenager, he accumulated 50 appearances for the Hammers - the first player to do so since a certain Michael Carrick. Despite his still young age, Rice has now made a stealthy 131 appearances for West Ham. Moreover, since switching allegiances from Ireland to England in 2019, he has established himself internationally with continuous improvements present within his game as he matures further.

Aside from a recent minor knee issue that kept him sidelined for a few weeks, Rice's availability has been pristine in recent times. He played every single minute of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, featuring in every match of the recent campaign until his injury hit towards the latter end. Proven by Harry Maguire since joining United, this level of availability is an extremely key asset to any player at the top level.

As a holding midfielder, experience as a centre-back early in his career has massively enhanced Rice's defensive ability. It's this defensive output that separates Rice from many of the rest. His physical presence is a huge benefit to his game, accentuating his ability to come out on top during contact situations. This strength in duels is a virtue within his role, with the capability to win headers whilst also offering the aptness to the duty by winning an extremely high percentage of attempted tackles. Conjoint with his dominance in the midfield, the tackling ability he possesses is integral in ensuring he is very rarely dribbled past - this puts him in a bracket as one the best one-on-one defensive midfielders. It's this tackling efficiency in conjunction with an impressive interceptive ability that separates Rice from many other deep-lying midfielders.

His understanding of the game is first class, exacerbating his capacity to initiate an awareness of potential danger in order to dilute opposition attacks. This nullification of promising opposing attacking phases is achieved by Rice's ability to intercept, in addition to the immense pressure he often tirelessly exerts. His absorption of pressure is a key characteristic which would be offered from the pivot, with his counter pressing ability at the very least halting (but often preventing) potentially impending counter attacks. This pressing is applied over a vast area of the pitch, with Rice offering an engine to frequently cover masses of ground to recover possession - fuelled by his persistent desire and determination. His defensive ability can certainly be judged within the same ball park as the likes of Wilfred Ndidi and N'Golo Kante.

By way of his potential role at United, it would be very similar to the purpose he offers within West Ham's double pivot alongside Tomas Soucek. Rice's presence allows the Czech a license to attack, with Soucek contributing a healthy amount to the Hammers' attack over the course of the recent season. The reliable and reserved cover enabled by Rice would allow Pogba to operate as an offensive body within the pivot at United, playing a similar role to that which earned Soucek all of the plaudits throughout the 20/21 campaign. Ultimately, the Frenchman would gain greater freedom to surge forward and control the game from higher; this allows establishment of some of that much needed extra quality in the final third, in hand developing our capabilities against lower blocks that are frequently encountered.

Although Rice rightly isn't renowned for any attacking prowess, his technical ability has massively improved since his West Ham debut cameo at the death of the 2017 season. He is able to use his stature to carry the ball effectively, sometimes bursting forward using his change of pace to catalyse attacks. His dribble success has continuously upgraded throughout the early years of his career, enhancing proficiency when playing out of danger. This composure under threat is massively aided by his complex passing range from deep; the ability to both spread the ball and simply play into the final third is also integral to transitional periods. In both his own and the opposition half, he has an excellent pass completion rate. Whilst he definitely isn't a proactive goalscorer or hugely creative figurehead, Rice certainly offers a dynamic element to West Ham's system with his ability to start attacking moves and play out of danger by the use of either foot.

So, to the logistics of a potential move to Manchester. The price tag is undoubtedly extortionate, with a fee of up to 100 million rumoured for the acquisition of Rice. One loophole to drag that number down could be the involvement of Jesse Lingard in a deal. He thrived during his loan move to the London side earlier in the year, proving that his talent is very much still there in spite of his unfortunate recent personal struggles. With so many options similar to Lingard at United, the chances of regularly getting minutes back at his boyhood club look rather bleak. Now in what should essentially be the peak of his career, Jesse will be craving minutes on the pitch; given his rapid settlement at the Hammers, it would surely be viable for him to return there on a permanent basis. In our bid for Rice, sending Lingard the opposite way could knock a healthy percentage off the hefty requested fee for the midfielder's services.

In conclusion, Rice would likely be a low risk and high reward purchase for United. As he continues to improve season on season, he is growing further into the role as a dominant presence that would be more than ideal to support our midfield defensively. He has already proven his quality and discipline in the Premier League, and would offer an extremely reliable defensive output from the pivot if he is to join United.