Former Liverpool and England midfielder Danny Murphy spoke glowingly of the level of Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, but says he needs to add silverware to his trophy cabinet to contend with greats of the past.
Speaking exclusively to BestBettingSites.co.uk, Murphy claimed that Rice is Europe’s “most complete midfielder” due to his “amazing versatility”.
However, Murphy did admit that Rice needs to add more goals, assists and chance creation from open play to his game to take it to the next level.
‘The most complete midfielder in Europe’
“Declan Rice is the most complete midfielder in Europe at the moment,” Murphy said. “I think he has amazing versatility in being able to do nearly all aspects of the game.
“I think he personally would want to contribute more goals and assists because he knows he’s capable.
“I say assists – I mean he gets a lot of assists from corners – but I mean in open play as well.
“That’s one area of the game he’s really trying hard to improve, because we know technically he’s very good and when he gets in positions he can score.
“And he should be scoring more with the ability he’s got, especially as he’s been given more of a free licence with Zubamendi behind him.”
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A ‘blessed footballer’
Murphy continued, stating that Rice is one of few gifted footballers that come along, whose physical prowess and capabilities match their technical ability.
“He’s one of those blessed footballers that don’t come along very often, with this wonderful physicality, pace, strength and endurance, matched with a real technical gift,” Murphy said.
“Keeping the ball well, playing with both feet, great on set plays, a good passer of the ball.
“That’s why so many people admire him and compare him to some of the greats of the past.
“I think he’s still got a bit of a way to go, in terms of being in a winning team and getting his team over the line, to be compared to some of the very top players of the past.
“But he’s certainly on the right pathway.”
Rice and Gerrard similarities
Murphy went on to say that he believes England are in quite a precarious position at the moment, due to his belief that Rice is as suited to the number six as the number eight – a similar problem he witnessed at Liverpool regarding club icon Steven Gerrard.
“He could easily be our best holding midfielder for England and the best number eight. So really, you want two of him,” Murphy said.
“We had a similar problem, in a way, with Gerrard.
“When Gerrard first came into the Liverpool team, people talked about him being the holding midfielder, sitting there forever, spraying the ball about and doing his defensive work with his physicality.
“Then he grew into a more attacking player, as you know, someone who in the second half of his career was never defensively minded.
“I think Declan’s probably trying to get to that level now.”
The possibility of Rice reaching legendary Premier League status
Commenting on the possibility of Rice living up to the potential he believes he has, to catch Premier League legends Gerrard and Frank Lampard, Murphy said:
“For Declan Rice to be spoken of in the same breath as a Gerrard or a Lampard, he needs to win the big ones.
“And he also needs to have the magic moments more often, like he did against Real Madrid.
“When you think of Liverpool and Chelsea, and Lampard and Gerrard over the years, you can just pick moments – big games, big goals.
“Lampard against Barcelona. Cup finals. Gerrard in cup finals, European finals. The best players produce those magic moments to get the team over the line.
“I’m talking about pivotal moments that people just remember, the ones that got your team over the line.
“I think that’s where Declan needs to get to be in that conversation, for sure.”
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