Is Chelsea target and West Ham midfielder Declan Rice worth £100 million?

According to recent reports, West Ham United have demanded an enormous sum for their prized possession, Declan Rice. The Hammers have asked for a sum of £100 million for the 22-year-old English international. Chelsea and Manchester United are rumored to want his services.

"Chelsea will reportedly have to pay a huge £100million transfer fee to sign Declan Rice from West Ham this summer. The 22-year-old has long been linked with a move back to the Blues, who released the midfielder at the age of 14, and is yet to sign a contract extension with the Hammers.(Via: Daily Mail)"

Though the player’s contract expires in 2024, West Ham United has asked for an astronomical fee for a couple of reasons. The defensive midfielder had a great Premier League 2020/21 season, as well as a terrific Euro 2020 tournament.

What has contributed to the inflation of his valuation, him being an English international. So this leaves the question is Declan Rice really worth £100 million?

Declan Rice is not the best-tackling defensive midfielder amongst the top crop in his position in the Premier League

Teams expect a defensive midfielder to shield the defensive line through blocks and tackles. In terms of tackles per 90 minutes, Rice falls behind the likes of Ruben Neves, Kalvin Phillips and Wilfred Ndidi.

Despite only playing 26 games, Wilfred Ndidi played a huge role in Leicester City’s great run in the English top-flight. In the absence of Ndidi, Brendan Rodgers’ men could not break down the opposition’s attack. Ndidi had 4.46 tackles per 90 whereas Declan Rice had 1.66 tackles per 90.

Leeds United midfielder, Kalvin Phillips had 1.63 tackles per 90 and Ruben Neves had 2.22 tackles per 90, which is also more than the “£100 million” midfielder.

All English Premier League

The West Ham player also falls behind all other midfielders in discussion in terms of key passes delivered per game in the top-flight. Kalvin Phillips and Ruben Neves account for 1.26 and 1.08 key passes per 90 whereas Declan Rice has only 0.59 key passes per game.

However, this can be attributed to the double pivot in which Rice features for West Ham United. Tomas Soucek plays the role of a deep-lying playmaker for the Hammers. So David Moyes gave Rice more of the defensive duties compared to his attacking inputs.

His numbers rank the lowest when comparing blocks in the English top-flight. He has the least amongst the four defensive midfielders who are considered in the analysis. Leicester City player, Ndidi, tops the charts with 2.73 blocks per 90 whereas Declan Rice has less with 1.69 blocks per 90.

Despite playing in a more attacking formation, Kalvin Phillips ranks higher than the West Ham midfielder. He has 2.26 blocks per 90 in 29 top-flight games.

Rice has always played in a double pivot for club and country

He has always played in a double pivot and alongside a pacy defensive midfielder who could cover him. In the national team setup, there was Kalvin Phillips while at London Stadium, there is Soucek to help him out.

This issue would cause his potential new suitors to incorporate a counter-attacking approach in their games if they are to play Rice. It is safe to say that Declan Rice cannot resolve the DM crisis at Old Trafford single-handedly.

Ole has made his intentions clear on playing a 4-3-3 formation from next season going forward, as he wants the team to be more attacking and be more of a threat up top.

On the other hand, Thomas Tuchel will look at someone as pacy as N’Golo Kante, as they already have a DM in Jorginho. Shelling out an enormous amount of £100 million for Declan Rice is not advisable when clubs are struggling because of the pandemic.

How much do you think Declan Rice is worth? Is he really worth £100 million? Should clubs break the transfer record for the West Ham midfielder? Have your say below!