It has been revealed that Declan Rice may operate as a centre-back for West Ham United upon the return of the Premier League season.
The Englishman has made 29 appearances for the Hammers in the Premier League this season and has not featured anywhere other than defensive midfield (per Transfermarkt).
However, due to the fact that Angelo Ogbonna is a doubt for the Irons’ return to action despite appearing in training photos (per football.london), it has been suggested that the 21-year-old could be moved deeper.
In the latest episode of The West Ham Way podcast, the in-the-know reporter @ExWHUemployee revealed that Rice may be the backup plan for the centre of defence.
He said: “I believe that [Angelo] Ogbonna is a major injury doubt for that game [against Wolves], which gives us a bit of a dilemma because at centre-back we’re not blessed with options.
“You’ve got [Issa] Diop, who I think will play. You’ve got [Fabian] Balbuena, who I don’t think [David] Moyes rates and then that’s pretty much it, really. You can play [Tomas] Soucek there.
“You could play Rice there and I actually think that will be the option he goes with, now.
“The reason I say that is because in the training games he has featured there. You only have to look at the photos on Twitter just to see that in most action shots, he’s in front of the goalkeeper or he’s marking the striker.
“So, he has had a bit of time there so I think the options will be between Balbuena and Rice but I suspect he will go with Rice at centre-back, which will be interesting for the time being while Ogbonna’s out.”
TIF Thoughts…
So, judging from what the in-the-know reporter had to say, it seems like Moyes will opt for Rice to play alongside Issa Diop at the centre of defence against Wolves on Saturday.
Do you think Declan Rice would be able to do a job for West Ham at centre-back?Yes, he is versatile
No, he couldn't do it
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However, Rice will be no stranger to playing at centre-back as he has done 17 times for the first team, 15 of which were in the Premier League (per Transfermarkt).