Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson or Eric Dier? The stats which show the West Ham United midfielder deserves England call-up after Republic of Ireland snub

Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson or Eric Dier? The stats which show the West Ham United midfielder deserves England call-up after Republic of Ireland snub
Declan Rice’s decision to play for England instead of the Republic of Ireland has presented Gareth Southgate with the sort of welcome conundrum every manager dreams of.The 20-year-old explained his decision to play for the country he was born and raised in via a heartfelt statement on Wednesday, describing it as an ‘extremely difficult decision’.7

Henderson and Dier have often shared defensive midfield duties for England

The West Ham United has gone being withdrawn at half time at Anfield on the opening day, to bullying seasoned Premier League midfielders in the space of just six months.Rice’s decision to switch international allegiances has drawn criticism from both fans and pundits alike.According to Dean Saunders, the versatile star should NOT be allowed to represent England. Tony Cascarino also said on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast he felt ‘gutted’ by the decision.His impressive form has not gone unnoticed, with Southgate reportedly ready to call up the youngster to the England squad for the fixtures against the Czech Republic and Montenegro in March. With fans already concerned for the futures of Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson, it seems apt to compare the three midfielders to see just who deserves to start those crucial Euro 2020 qualifying games.Scroll down to see how Rice compares against the Liverpool and Tottenham stars, according to data collated from whoscored.com.

DEFENSIVE CONTRIBUTIONS

7

Rice is beaten by either Dier or Henderson in just two categories (courtesy of whoscored.com)

Having spent virtually the entirety of his youth career as a centre-half, Rice can naturally spot danger when the opposition have the ball. As he has matured into a holding midfielder under Manuel Pellegrini, his reading of the game and interceptions have become vital to the way West Ham play.Rice averages 1.6 interceptions per game as opposed to 0.8 from Henderson and 1.0 from Dier. Similarly, his tackle rate is a lot higher. Rice averages 2.6 tackles per game in comparison to 1.5 from Henderson and 1.6 from Dier. In fact, Rice is only beaten by his more senior counterparts in the ‘dribbled past’ and ‘clearances’ sections.What we can infer from this data is that, like Rice, the Spurs midfielder has utilised the skills he honed from playing as a defender to be effective without the ball in the midfield areas.As a defender first and foremost, the West Ham star will look to protect his defenders at all times. He covers the channels when the Hammers’ rampaging full-backs are caught up-field, perhaps explaining his high defensive stats.

OFFENSIVE CONTRIBUTIONS

7

The West Ham defender is a danger from set pieces

As the midfield anchor in West Ham’s midfield, Rice is tasked with freeing Mark Noble and Robert Snodgrass of their defensive responsibilities. As a result, his attacking stats are not as impressive as his defensive contributions.Although he can claim to havemore dribbles and more shots per game than his midfield rivals, his strengths are undoubtedly in the opposition box.Standing at 6″1, Rice is not spectacularly tall but he has an incredible spring and is not afraid to put his head in where it hurts. His strike against Arsenal in January shows he also has the necessary composure in front of goals.

PASSING STATISTICS

7

The one area where Rice is soundly beaten by his more experience colleagues, Rice needs to offer more on the ball

In order to make the step up to international football, Rice must develop his game with the ball if he is to become England’s main man in midfield. Although the Hammers do not enjoy as much possession as Liverpool or Tottenham, the West Ham man is some way behind his rivals.His pass success rate, key passes and though ball stats are decidedly lacking and, in Gareth Southgate’s system, this is likely to hinder Rice’s progression into the England set-up.At the World Cup, Henderson was the heartbeat for England. An out and regista, he took games by the scruff of the neck and his use of the ball stretched teams to exploit the spaces for England’s pacy and more creative players.Against Tunisia, he was superb. The opposition players looked lost as the Liverpool skipper mixed up his passing game to either release runners from deep with balls over the top or draw players out of position with incisive, short passes.7

Henderson was the main man for England in Russia

HOW COULD HE FIT IN?

Given Rice’s age and inexperience, it is unlikely he will be thrust into the big games for England straight away by Gareth Southgate. However, it would seem as though this is where he would excel for the Three Lions.As a natural midfielder, Henderson possesses the passing range and tactical nous required to be England’s main man in Southgate’s preferred formation with three at the back.Used against sides who are willing to sit back, the full backs push on and England are required to be forward thinking to break down the opposition. Rice is not quite up to international standard yet in terms of creativity.However, when England have played more forward-thinking teams (i.e. Spain and Croatia in the Nations League) Southgate has used a 4-3-3 formation. This is where Rice should be used for the Three Lions.7

Rice’s discipline and ability to do the simple things well make him an excellent choice for the holding midfield role

Against both of those nations, England played much more compact and looked to utilise the pace of their wingers to devastating effect.However, without the tireless work of their midfielders in winning and then releasing the ball quickly, the system effectively fails. Having kept Paul Pogba, Eden Hazard and Roberto Firmino quiet for West Ham at home this season, Rice has shown he is more than capable of executing this role.His reading of the game and aggressive pressing make him an ideal candidate to be the anchor for England’s midfield role ahead of Eric Dier, who performs virtually an identical role.The 25-year-old was fantastic for the Three Lions against Spain at the tailend of last year, despite picking up a booking for an almighty tackle on Sergio Ramos.7

Here’s how Rice could fit into the England team

CONCLUSION

While the West Ham midfielder has no guarantees his international switch will guarantee England caps, there is certainly room for Rice in the England set-up.Even if he does not start (or even get on the pitch) after his first call-up, Southgate will be keen to ingratiate the 20-year-old with the squad and allow him to gain an understanding of how to play the roles.However, it would be unwise to suggest Dier and Henderson deserve to be shifted out just yet. Both are diligent and strong leaders in this young Three Lions side and are trusted by Southgate.Rice has some way to oust them just yet, but the future certainly looks bright.

---

Manchester United news: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed it was his 'ultimate dream' to become Red Devils manager in 2013 The Norwegian was today confirmed as the club's new permanent boss By
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed it was his goal to become

---

Leeds: Marcelo Bielsa paid 'spygate' fine from his OWN POCKET and will also cover costs of Aston Villa drama The Argentine picked up the £200,000 bill following the 'spygate' saga and plans
Marcelo Bielsa paid Leeds' £200k spygate fine out of his own

---

Liverpool are unbeaten in the Premier League this season and Saturday's stunning win at Bournemouth saw them leapfrog title rivals Manchester City into top spot. But a third-placed finish in Group C would see them drop into the Europa League and Rush is concerned Thursday night fixtures could impact their hopes of winning the league.
Ian Rush fears Europa could affect Reds title charge

---

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp deserves ban for running on to

---

Keith Hill has been sacked as manager of Rochdale, the League One club have confirmed. Hill was in his second spell in charge at Spotland, taking over again in 2013 having previously managed the
Keith Hill: Rochdale sack manager after six years in charge

---

West Ham News: Former striker Tony Cottee blasts Marko

---

Christian Pulisic says he is privileged to sign for

---

Zidane 'making it clear' to Gareth Bale that he has no Real

---

FA slams 'unacceptable' abuse of England players in

---

Cristiano Ronaldo scored in his 10th international tournament

---

N'Golo Kante is being 'wasted' and may look to leave Chelsea if it continues, says Tony Cascarino season by shifting Kante from his regular central midfield role into a wider and more

---

Philippe Coutinho's agent sends message to Chelsea over unsettled Barcelona star's future. bring the former Liverpool star back to Chelsea and Manchester United to sign Philippe
Why Philippe Coutinho's future at Barcelona may hinge on FIFA

---

The Red Devils have been on an unbelievable run of form under caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that has seen them move into fourth place in the Premier League and reach the quarter-finals of

---

watch uefa champions league draw live streaming
champions league final live streaming video free
manchester united vs manchester city live streaming premier league
premier league live streaming xbox one
free premier league live streaming sites
premier volleyball league live streaming youtube
football live streaming app
champions league live streaming real madrid vs bayern munich
champions league live streaming english
uefa champions league real madrid vs psg live streaming
champions league live streaming gratuit
real madrid vs liverpool final champions league live streaming
live streaming champions league manchester city
champions league live streaming ten sports
match champions league live streaming
champions league live streaming ronaldo
english premier league live streaming liverpool
champions league live stream uefa
african champions league live streaming
football live streaming brazil vs belgium
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online reddit
champions league live stream vlc
psg champions league live streaming
premier league live streaming totalsportek
champions league live streaming in pakistan
ofc champions league live streaming
indian premier league live streaming free
caf champions league live streaming
streaming liverpool arsenal live gratuit premier league
pokhara premier league live streaming
watch indian premier league live streaming
football live streaming mobile app
uefa champions league live streaming barcelona vs psg
karachi premier league live streaming
premier league live stream manchester united
live streaming of pakistan premier league
tamil nadu premier league 2018 live match streaming
liverpool premier league live streaming
champions league live streaming twitter
champions league semi final live streaming
football live streaming hd
uefa champions league live streaming youtube bt sport
live football streaming joker stream
champions league live streaming sky sports
english premier league live streaming in pakistan
champions league live streaming app
football live streaming bundesliga
afc champions league live streaming
champions league live streaming switzerland
big boss t20 premier league live streaming
football live streaming indonesia
football live streaming juventus vs sassuolo
live champions league live streaming
premier volleyball league philippines live streaming
inter vs tottenham champions league live streaming
football live streaming tv apk download
best champions league live streaming
football live streaming websites free
watch bangladesh premier league live streaming free
premier league live streaming.net
premier league live streaming xfinity
football live streaming sites reddit
fc barcelona vs real madrid live streaming spanish premier league
champions league today's match live streaming
premier league live stream first row
arsenal champions league live streaming free
premier league live streaming usa free
champions league draw live streaming free
premier league live audio streaming
south africa premier league live streaming
football premier league live streaming
champions league live streaming ipad
champions league qualification live streaming
afghanistan premier league live streaming
football live streaming sites 2019
champions league live streaming real madrid
uefa champions league live streaming ten sports
uefa champions league quarter final draw live streaming 2018
real madrid champions league live streaming
premier league games live streaming free
egypt premier league live streaming
live streaming premier league football p2p
football live streaming juventus vs genoa
football live streaming online tvronaldo.com
premier league live streaming reddit
ipl indian premier league live streaming
premier league live stream japan
atletico madrid vs juventus champions league live streaming
hockey champions league live streaming
champions league live streaming barcelona
premier league live streaming hd free
pakistan premier league live streaming in india
aek paok champions league live streaming
premier league of darts live streaming
sri lanka premier league live streaming
champions league live streaming real madrid vs bayern munich free
premier volleyball league live streaming
premier league live stream espn
english premier league live streaming india
tamil nadu premier league live match streaming
philippine collegiate champions league live streaming
juventus ajax champions league live streaming
premier league free live stream vipbox
uk premier league live streaming
football live streaming joker
epl live streaming hotstar
football live stream extension
english premier league liverpool vs chelsea live streaming
caribbean premier league live streaming sony six
champions league live streaming espn
barclays premier league live streaming sky sports free
champions league final live streaming ten sports
premier league live stream hd online
champions league live streaming bein
live football streaming hd app
juventus vs real madrid champions league live streaming
football live streaming el clasico
indian premier league live streaming 2018
champions league hockey live streaming free
concacaf champions league live streaming free
bangladesh premier league live streaming geo super
barclays premier league live streaming
#footballmemes #nike #univisiondeportes #Mancity #Cristiano #beinsports #Rooney #barcelona #fifa #UCL #meme #tottenham #realmadrid #ronaldo #news #juventus #goals #amsterdam #messi #likes4likes #hakimziyech #mufc #footy #CristianoRonaldo #sanchez #bundesliga #Bale #championsleague #Futbol #premierleague #united #navas #sports #ajax #ChampionsLeague #degea #Football #Like4Like #salah #transfers #europaleague #foxsports #zinedinezidane #football #Chelsea #liverpool #likeforlikes #foxdeportes #espndeportes #Manchesterunited #courtois