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Opinion: Jamie Redknapp couldn’t be more wrong; West Ham star doesn’t need position change

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What a player Declan Rice is. The youngster is the future of both West Ham and England in the base of the midfield, and whilst he can certainly do a solid job as a central defender, it’s not his main position and shouldn’t be where his game is played, now or in the coming years.

Manuel Pellegrini has done a superb job of transitioning Rice from a tough-tackling central defender into a midfield man who can sweep up and screen his back four to brilliant effect. However, Jamie Redknapp is now claiming that the Irons’ starlet could be the future of England’s defence.

Redknapp’s comments have come via The Daily Mail, and whilst we’re not saying that Rice should never be used at centre-back, he definitely shouldn’t make the move deeper to the role just for the sake of the Three Lions.

Looking at the options that England have coming through at the back, Rice simply isn’t needed there. The likes of Fikayo Tomori, Joe Gomez, Harry Maguire and John Stones can be relied upon for years to come, but the scene is not the same when looking at the options in defensive midfield.

Aside from Rice, Gareth Southgate has Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson. For context, Henderson has played some of his best football over the last 12 months playing as a #8, away from the role at the base of midfield, whilst Dier has failed to make the England squad.

Taking that into account, it cannot be said that Rice needs to move back to the defence, instead, he just needs to be partnered with the right man in midfield who complements his abilities as a ball-winner, making someone like Harry Winks, who is sublime in transition, an ideal man alongside him.

If Pellegrini can see that Rice is wasted in defence and is of more use in a slightly more advanced role the Redknapp should be able to do the same, and the Irons will just have to hope that Southgate takes no notice of the comments, or indeed the criticism, that has come Rice’s way since the defeat to the Czech Republic.

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