TalkSPORT pundit Danny Murphy has suggested that Declan Rice could occupy a more attacking midfield role if he were to make a move to Manchester City this summer.
After Arsenal saw their first bid rejected by West Ham United, it was reported that City are considering making their own bid for the Englishman.
Since then, the Gunners have had a second bid turned down for the player said to be worth £90m in total, with West Ham, who want around £100m for their captain, expecting the Manchester club to officially get involved in the race this week.
This has now led to one pundit and former Premier League midfielder making a claim about what sort of role the 24-year-old could have should he find himself in Pep Guardiola’s squad.
Murphy backs Rice for attacking-midfield role at City
Speaking on talkSPORT, Murphy said this about Rice and where he’d potentially fit into City’s team.
He said: “Bernardo Silva, who hasn’t decided apparently, and [Ilkay] Gundogan are gone, there’s plenty of room because those two are the one who play alongside Rodri, so Rice could play in that position and get more forward and be an eight, that’s what he’ll be.”
Across his career, Rice has played the majority of his games in a defensive-midfield role, scoring 15 goals and 12 assists across 214 games played in that position.
Bearing in mind how City already have three defensive-midfielders in their squad at the moment in the shape of Rodri, Kalvin Phillips and Maximo Perrone, adding a player like Rice to their ranks may not be particularly necessary, unless, as Murphy spoke about, Guardiola considers playing him in a more advanced role than he has been used to.
Taking into account how the England international racked up more progressive passes (240) and made more key passes (37) than any other midfield player at West Ham in the Premier League last season, this could be why Murphy thinks Rice could be a useful player for City in terms of feeding their attacking players such as Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland among others.
