According to Simon Phillips, Liverpool have done a lot of homework on Declan Rice as they look to overhaul their midfield in 2023.
The Reds’ midfield has been a point of contention this season. Jordan Henderson, Thiago and Fabinho have all been out of sorts this season, and replacements are needed.
Rice is a player Liverpool are reportedly very keen on, and interestingly, the West Ham star has been likened to Steven Gerrard in the past.
Indeed, in his Daily Mail column, former Liverpool star, Danny Murphy, directly compared Rice to Gerrard in terms of his style and ability to single-handedly put a team on his back.
Rice compared to Gerrard
Murphy praised Rice earlier this year and compared him to the former Liverpool captain.
“Rice’s goal was phenomenal. It was like watching Steven Gerrard back in the day marauding forward and dragging his side back into the game in the last minute,” Murphy wrote
“I am not saying Rice is as talented as Stevie, but this is the type of midfielder Rice is going to become. He can do so much more that sitting in front of the back four. Over the next few years, we will see him develop into a proper No.8, driving forward, getting more goals.
Needs to step up
Rice is a very talented player, and he has been the West Ham equivalent of Gerrard over the past 18 months or so, but you need to seriously step up if you’re going to perform that role for Liverpool.
It’s all well and good being a star player for a team in the Europa Conference League battling for a place in the top six, but Liverpool nearly won a quadruple last season, the standards are just higher.
That’s not to say that Rice wouldn’t cope in this Liverpool team, but it does seem unlikely that he’ll be able to have a Gerrard-esque effect on this side.
Regardless of whether or not Rice is the new Gerrard, he would still be a very decent addition to this squad and it’s a signing Liverpool could really benefit from.
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