Chelsea defensive midfielder scouting series part four: Declan Rice
Play style
Rice plays in a team that is nearly opposite of the one Kante plays in. Rice’s West Ham plays in a mid-to-low block and looks to defend in numbers, hitting teams on the break with efficient passing, speed and off ball movement. West Ham pressed a lot more last season, coming in fifth in the Premier League for total pressures and sixth for total successful pressures. This season, West Ham is in the bottom five for total and successful pressures.
Notwithstanding, Rice himself has vey good pressing numbers, and he doesn’t allow opponents much time on the ball. He also looks to quickly release the ball to other players to start attacks, sometimes even picking out long balls to bypass pressing lines. Rice often presses higher up the field too, helping West Ham win the ball back in the final third, much like Kante. Rice has led his team in pressures in the middle and defensive third. He has featured mostly this season as the deepest midfielder in a 5-3-2 formation. He has also featured a lot in a two-man midfield pivot.
The England International is very adept, often staying back to snuff out counters and be available for defensive situations. He rarely getting carried away and runs forward. Rice has averaged 18.3 pressures compared to Kante’s 21.5. He has succeeded in 5.4 of them compared to Kante 7.2 per 90 in the time under scrutiny. Chelsea has been a high-pressing team since the start of last season, so it’s not surprising that Kante has higher pressures. Kante succeeds in about 3 percent more pressures per 90 than Rice though. It is worth mentioning that both teams have a stark difference in possession averages, with West Ham averaging 45 percent possession from the start of last season and Chelsea averaging 58 percent. This means that Rice would be expected to record more defensive actions, considering he plays as a defensive midfielder for a team that rarely enjoys possession.
Rice has 4.1 progressive carries per 90, compared to Kante’s 5.4. This doesn’t say as much as it seems to though, as Kante has a lot more of the ball per 90 than Rice. Kante has on average 75 touches per 90 compared to Rice’s 56 in the time under scrutiny. Rice, therefore, will often do less things on the ball than Kante. Kante and Rice also show alertness and willingness to recover possession, with Kante making 13.5 ball recoveries (picking up loose balls) compared to Rice’s 10.8. The above numbers indicate that Rice meets the out-of-possession requirements to play in a Tuchel team.