Assessing Declan Rice’s options between Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs
A rugged battle for a place in the Chelsea team
Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend recently pointed out the ideal reason why a move to Chelsea could be a risky decision for Rice.
Andros Townsend on TalkSport:
"Chelsea like their holding midfielders to be ball-playing. I think Kante has kind of broken into that team, so it’s him and a ball-playing midfielder. Unless Kovacic or Jorginho leave, I don’t see where he’d fit in there."
👀 “I’m sure he’ll probably look to leave West Ham again this summer.”
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) July 2, 2021
🔵 “Unless Kante or Jorginho leave, I don’t see how he fits at #CFC.”
🔴 “Man Utd is different, look at Pogba with Kante in the France team!”@Andros_Townsend says #WHUFC’s Rice would be perfect for #MUFC. pic.twitter.com/PlrxX6Jzrf
N’Golo Kante is simply irreplaceable in the Chelsea team, meaning that Rice will have to fight either Jorginho or Mateo Kovacic for the only place in the midfield.
With Tuchel preferring a 3-5-2 approach, there isn’t a big canvas to work for an extra midfielder.
In big matches, like the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester City, Tuchel stuck with the pairing of Kante and Jorginho, and this is expected to be the trend even in the 2021/22 season.
To sum it up, both Chelsea and Rice will be up for a gamble if a move to Stamford Bridge does materialize.
At 22, the midfielder won’t settle for a squad role, while the Blues are in no state of offering a permanent starting spot either.