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Declan Rice has received criticism from pundits for not scoring enough goals as a midfielder before England's match against Italy, where he had a goal to his name.
Graeme Souness' criticism of Declan Rice has drawn support from Troy Deeney, who has praised the midfielder for his contribution to the England team.
In his essay for the Daily Mail last month, Souness stated that Rice is only good at defending and that he anticipates the Hammers star eventually switching to center-back.
Rice branded as World class
Deeney, an ex-Premier League striker, used Chelsea's N'Golo Kante and Man City's Rodri as examples of midfielders who don't score often but are still regarded as world-class, something he believes Rice is.
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Declan Rice went on to score the opening goal for England against Italy in the 2-1 win on Thursday night which led them to their first win on Italian ground for over 60 years.
Speaking in an interview, Deeney said, “I thought Graeme Souness’ criticism of Declan Rice was quite harsh.
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Roberto de Zerbi, the manager of Brighton and Hove Albion, gave a hint about what has kept his players motivated and productive this season.
“Graeme’s opinion is that to be a world-class midfielder, you need to create and score more goals. He feels Declan does not do that.
“But you can rattle off loads of names who don’t score loads N’Golo Kante, Casemiro, Rodri, Thomas Partey and Toni Kroos to name a few.
“For me, Declan is world class. This kid plays so many games a year and is still a young man getting used to that.”
Rice proving Souness wrong
Declan Rice has been one of West Ham's top performers this season, and as a result, the National team has called him up. He has gained attention since he is a crucial member of the West Ham team and because teams are lining up to sign him.
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Souness argued the West Ham player hasn't done enough to merit the title of a world-class midfielder, but he was proven wrong by scoring against Italy in the European qualifiers. Rice has three goals for England.
Rice could also feature for England on Sunday when the Three Lions face Ukraine at Wembley in a Euro 2024 qualifier with the hopes of adding more goals to his previous tally.
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