In a recent report, Defensa Central revealed that Real Madrid have set their sights on West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice. It has been claimed that Los Blancos are eyeing a move to land the England international next year.
Rice’s Up And Down Campaign At The London Stadium
The 23-year-old is having a difficult season at West Ham as he has struggled to help the Hammers be consistent in the Premier League. Rice has scored one goal and grabbed a couple of assists in 26 matches for the Hammers during this campaign across various competitions.
The England international deserves credit for anchoring the midfield well by averaging 2.4 tackles, 1.6 interceptions, 1.3 clearances, 1.2 shots and 1.3 key passes per 90 minutes in Premier League football. He has even been accurate when distributing possession from midfield after completing 90.4% of his attempted passes in the English top tier (stats via whoscored).
His current contract at the London Stadium is set to run out in the summer of 2024. Hence, Real Madrid will have a good chance of recruiting him on the cheap next summer.
Is Declan Rice A Decent Choice For Real Madrid Boss Carlo Ancelotti?
Rice can get stuck in with some crunching challenges to make life tough for the opposition in the middle of the park. He can sense the danger quickly and is not shy of clearing his lines when in danger of being caught out at the back. The English sensation is proficient at setting up a few meaningful openings for his teammates in the opponent’s half and can even shoot the ball with venom and precision from long range. He is a tidy passer of the ball as well but needs to make more runs into the opposition penalty box.
At the moment, Rice is enjoying his time in Qatar while representing England in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. We can expect him to inject a lot of bite and steel into Real Madrid‘s midfield department if Carlo Ancelotti can devise a way to get him on board next year.
Rice has what it takes to help Los Blancos maintain their dominance in both domestic and European football. Plus, he is good enough to serve as a decent long-term successor to Luka Modric who has entered the final stage of his playing career at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. All in all, Rice would be an excellent choice for the Madrid giants to pursue this January or at the end of this season.
