The Four Reasons Why Lampard Wants Declan Rice To Play In Defence

Some Chelsea fans may have been left scratching their heads at reports suggesting that manager Frank Lampard wants to sign West Ham’s Declan Rice to play at centre-back.

The England international has rarely played the position at senior level with the vast majority of his playing time for the Hammers coming as a defensive midfielder.

However, Rice did come through the youth system at both Chelsea and West Ham as a centre-half and Lampard has clearly seen something that has persuaded him that he could shore up the Blues’ leaky defence.

It will still be a risk, though, considering the need to fix a key area which has been holding the team back this season. So what is the thinking behind targeting Rice? We take a look at four possible reasons.

He is comfortable on the ball

As well as passing, modern centre-backs need to be able to bring the ball out from defence and into midfield, without losing possession. This requires a good level of dribbling ability.

Rice has a far superior dribble success percentage (75%) than N’Golo Kante (63%), while his average is also higher than Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk (67%), who attempts far fewer per game.

Despite being a midfielder, Rice is decent in the air

At 6ft 1, the West Ham is certainly a decent height to be a centre-back, and it is shown in his aerial duels he has won this season. His 60% win ratio is higher than Andreas Christensen’s (59%)

Although it must be said, he does trail the likes of Kurt Zouma (74%) and van Dijk (76%) in this category, which does count against him somewhat.

He can keep possession

One of the key aspects of Lampard’s style of play is having defenders who can play out from the back. We have seen mistakes from the likes of Kurt Zouma, in particular, that suggest the defenders currently at the manager’s disposal are not necessarily suitable.

Playing in midfield, Rice has shown he is capable in possession. In fact, according to Sofascore, the 21-year-old lost possession less often (8.4 times per game) than Virgil van Dijk (9.5)

Rice is excellent at sensing danger

The West Ham midfielder has actually averaged the same number interceptions per game (2) this season than Kante, demonstrating his anticipation and reading of the game.

Although intercepting the ball is more common in midfield than in defence, Rice’s ability to sense danger is a key trait which should not be underestimated.

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