Former Tottenham Hotspur star Rafael van der Vaart has labelled Declan Rice “ineffective” after lambasting the Arsenal and England midfielder for his model of play.
Arsenal signed Rice in a £105m deal final summer time, a file switch charge for an English participant, whereas since 2019 he has been a staple of an England aspect that has reached two main finals.
But Van der Vaart, who spent two years at Spurs after two years at Actual Madrid and briefly appeared within the 2010 World Cup that Netherlands misplaced to Spain, is not satisfied by his means.
“£100m for Declan Rice…what does he do?” Van der Vaart mentioned on Dutch broadcaster NOS.
“He comes to gather a ball solely to move it again to John Stones. He’s ineffective. If you’re actually value £100m, then it’s best to be capable of play a ball ahead.”
Regardless of Van der Vaart’s criticism, stats previous to the ultimate revealed Rice to have made extra profitable passes into the ultimate third throughout the Euro 2024 knockout rounds than every other midfielder, with 90. Comparably, Jude Bellingham made 71, whereas Spain maestro Fabian Ruiz managed 68 and Rodri, who was Spain’s linchpin and was ultimately named Participant of the Match, did not seem within the prime 5.
At membership degree in 2023/24, Rice helped Arsenal shut the hole on Manchester Metropolis to simply two factors within the Premier League title race. The Gunners completed the marketing campaign with a greater defensive file than the reigning champions are arguably only a recognised goalscoring striker away from with the ability to topple Pep Guardiola’s juggernaut as 2024/25 roles into view.
Arsenal pre-season coaching kicked off on Monday morning the day after the Euros closing, however Rice will now have a vacation of not less than a few weeks. That may see him miss all the membership’s summer time tour of the US, with video games in opposition to Bournemouth, Manchester United and Liverpool this month. However he ought to characteristic in not less than certainly one of two dwelling friendlies scheduled for August.
