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Collymore: Rice wants to play further forward

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Image for Collymore: Rice wants to play further forward

Stan Collymore has taken to Twitter to share a conversation he has recently had with Declan Rice where the West Ham star said that he wants to play in a more advanced midfield role in the future.

Rice, 20, earned his fourth cap for England on Saturday in the Three Lions’ 4-0 win against Bulgaria at Wembley and is starting to look as though he is Gareth Southgate’s number one choice to play in the defensive midfield role.

However based on what Collymore says, it does not look as though Rice sees himself spending the rest of his career as a midfield enforcer who sits in front of the back two.

“Chatted to Rice recently and he sees himself playing further forward in years to come,” said Collymore via his personal Twitter account on Saturday.

“Definitely like the idea of him, [James] Maddison and [Mason] Mount as a three, fluid, interchangeable, mobile.”

TIF Tactics

Rice may have played as England’s midfield anchor on Saturday but there were parts of his display that suggested that he is already trying to play in a role that sees him become a bit more creative and more involved in attacking phases of play.

According to stats by WhoScored, only Kieran Trippier [98] completed more passes in England’s win against Bulgaria that Rice, who found his team-mates with the ball on 95 occasions.

The most passes Rice has completed in a single match this season for West Ham was when he completed 50 in the 1-1 draw against Brighton last month.

Back to the England match, Rice also completed three dribbles, one key pass and three tackles, so while he was still having more of an impact in possession of the ball, he was still doing his job defensively and getting possession back for the Three Lions.

Would it work at West Ham?

Rice might see himself playing further forward in the future but at the moment, he is one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League and Manuel Pellegrini needs him to play in that role more than anything else.

Carlos Sanchez is the only other defensive midfielder on the books at the London Stadium but the Colombian is 33-years-old, in the final year of his contract and nowhere near as good as Rice in that position.

Even if Pellegrini did want to play Rice in a more advanced role, he would then have to think about leaving out players like Mark Noble and Jack Wilshere to accommodate.

While it is understandable that Rice wants to play in a more glamorous position, for now, it is best if he just sticks at what he is best to and try to help West Ham achieve their goals in domestic football before setting his sights on something he’s not quite ready to do.

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