Declan Rice: Souness Highlights Key Area For Improvement To Become World-Class

Chloe Fitzgerald

5 min read

Post on May 02, 2025

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Souness's Critique: Goal Scoring and Attacking Contribution

Graeme Souness, a midfield legend himself, believes Declan Rice needs a significant upgrade in his goal-scoring prowess and overall attacking contribution. While lauding Rice's defensive excellence, Souness pointedly emphasized the necessity of a more potent offensive output to compete with the world's best midfielders. The current gap between Rice's defensive capabilities and his offensive contributions is what prevents him from reaching the elite level.

• Lack of consistent goal threat from midfield: Rice's goal tally doesn't reflect the influence he has in other areas of the game. A world-class midfielder needs to be a consistent goal threat.
• Needs to improve his shooting accuracy and power: More precise shooting and powerful strikes are crucial for finding the back of the net consistently from distance and inside the box.
• Should be more assertive in making late runs into the box: Timing his attacking runs to exploit defensive vulnerabilities is key for a midfielder looking to increase their goal contributions.
• Requires better timing of his attacking movements: Understanding the flow of the game and choosing the right moment to attack is crucial for creating and finishing chances.
• Improving his ability to create chances for teammates: While Rice's passing is accurate, he can enhance his ability to create goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates through more incisive passes and through balls.

Analyzing Rice's Current Strengths and Weaknesses

While Souness highlights a key area for development, it's crucial to acknowledge Rice's considerable strengths. His defensive work rate, passing accuracy, and leadership qualities are already amongst the best in the Premier League and beyond. These attributes form a solid foundation upon which he can build further development.

• Exceptional defensive skills and tackling ability: Rice's tackling and interception skills are renowned, allowing him to disrupt opposition attacks effectively.
• Excellent passing range and accuracy: Rice's ability to distribute the ball accurately across the pitch is a vital asset for any team.
• Strong leadership qualities and on-field presence: He commands respect and organizes his team effectively on the pitch.
• Physical strength and stamina: Rice's physical attributes allow him to dominate midfield battles and maintain high energy levels throughout the game.
• Consistent performance and reliability: Rice's consistent high level of performance makes him a reliable and dependable player for his team.

How Rice Can Improve His Offensive Game

Improving offensive contributions isn't solely about scoring more goals; it's a holistic approach involving several interconnected aspects of the game. This section outlines potential avenues for Rice's development.

• Dedicated practice on shooting technique and power: Focused training on shooting accuracy, power, and technique is paramount.
• Working on his positioning in the attacking third: Understanding optimal positioning within the attacking third to capitalize on opportunities.
• Analyzing game footage to understand attacking patterns: Studying opponent's defensive weaknesses and learning from the attacking patterns of top midfielders.
• Collaborating with attacking players to refine passing combinations: Working closely with forwards to improve the team's attacking flow and create more scoring opportunities.
• Mentorship from experienced attacking midfielders: Learning from experienced players who excel in the attacking aspects of the game can provide invaluable insights.

Comparing Rice to Other World-Class Midfielders

Benchmarking Rice against other elite midfielders like N'Golo Kanté, Casemiro, and Luka Modrić helps illustrate where further refinement is needed to attain that coveted world-class status. These players serve as valuable benchmarks for goal contributions, offensive positioning, and overall game impact.

• Comparing goal contributions and assists: Analyzing the goal and assist tallies of these players highlights the offensive output gap that Rice needs to bridge.
• Analyzing their attacking positioning and movement: Studying how these top midfielders move into attacking positions and create space for themselves.
• Evaluating their overall influence on the game: Assessing how their all-round contributions—beyond goals and assists—impact the game for their teams.
• Identifying similar strengths and weaknesses to Rice: Pinpointing similarities and differences to better understand where Rice excels and where improvements are needed.
• Highlighting aspects where top players excel that Rice needs to work on: Identifying the specific skills and tactical awareness that separate the elite from the very good.

Conclusion: Unlocking Declan Rice's World-Class Potential

Declan Rice undoubtedly possesses the potential to become a truly world-class midfielder. However, as Graeme Souness astutely observes, significantly improving his goal-scoring and overall attacking contribution is paramount. By focusing on dedicated training, meticulous tactical analysis, and seeking mentorship from experienced players, Rice can refine this key area for improvement and solidify his place among the footballing elite. His current strengths provide a solid foundation, and by addressing the outlined weaknesses, he can evolve from an exceptional player into a truly dominant force in the midfield. Let's see if Declan Rice can heed Souness's advice and reach his full world-class potential! Share your predictions for Declan Rice's future in the comments below.