Jamie Carragher told Monday Night Football on Sky Sports (21/12/20 at 7:20 pm) that Declan Rice is a ‘really good passer of the ball’ despite claims that it’s a weakness in the West Ham star’s game.
The TV pundit compared Rice’s passing ability to that of Premier League great John Terry and how West Ham’s defensive rock is able to switch play with his weaker left foot.
Rice was in action last night as West Ham fell to a 3-0 defeat against their London rivals Chelsea, but they were perhaps unfortunate to leave the Bridge empty-handed and with a 3-0 scoreline against their name.
Nonetheless, before the match, Carragher shared his thoughts on Rice’s game when on the ball and how he needs to be more than just a number 6.
“I am a big fan on Declan Rice,” said Carragher. “You look at the age, he’s 21, but it feels like he has done a lot in his career already. Almost feels like he’s an automatic starter for the England team. That’s some going for someone at his age.
“A lot of the chat around Declan Rice is ‘yeh, he’s a good player. but his passing isn’t very good’. I watch him and he can pass.
Carragher then proceeds to show Rice pinging a pass cross-field ball to Felipe Anderson on his left foot from his own half into the final third last season, as well other examples against Spurs.
“This is actually on his left-foot,” added Carragher. “He has a little lookup. To be able to play a left-footed pass like that when you are a right-footed player. The only one I can think of, who used to do it consistently, is John Terry.
“People who tell me that he cannot pass. I just don’t see it – this I want to see a bit more from him and I have seen a lot more this season is don’t just get pigeonholed into ‘I sit in front of the back four’. I think he has got more than that. He’s got more in his locker, who is this guy that just sits in front of centre-backs. He is a really good passer of the ball.”
Both for West Ham and England, Rice is on the rise and he may well be the best player in his position in five years time.
Even then, he won’t be at his peak, so it just goes to show the qualities he has at his feet and where he could end up towards the end of his career.
West Ham will go a long way if they can keep hold of their star man and dreams of reaching Europe will be a reality in the long-term if they build the team around him.
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