Chelsea Linked Rice opens up and announces his dream to emulate greats of Premier League

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LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 07: West Ham United's Declan Rice during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on March 7, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images)

Chelsea target Declan Rice is hoping to emulate Premier League greats Patrick Vieira and Yaya Toure.

West Ham decided to turn Rice from Centre-back to holding midfielder just a couple of seasons ago, and since they done that, the Englishman has flourished so much, that he is heavily tipped to become one of the very best in world football.

His quality on the pitch have him back on our radar, but a man who started out as a centre-half is eager to nail down a role in a holding midfield berth – allowing him to follow in the footsteps of Manchester City and Arsenal icons.

“I see this as my position, 100 per cent,” Rice said on operating in the engine room.

“I’ve played in midfield for the last three seasons and I think a lot of people get carried away with what they want me to do!

“My role is a holding midfielder and there’s not really any flair in that. I’m disciplined, I make sure I’m always available for the team, I’m always in position, I get my passes off quick, I intercept and I tackle. I think a lot of people want to see things like stepovers and I’ve got that in the locker, but that’s not my role!

“I can play at centre-half, but I’ve got much more to give and I think my confidence is growing in midfield. The more I start driving forward with the ball like I’ve done in recent games, the more I’ll grow into that position.

“I watched the top players like Yaya Toure and Patrick Vieira and every time they see a bit of space, they’d drive into it and look powerful and strong and as a holding midfielder that’s rare these days, so if I can keep adding that into my game, I can keep catching the eye.

“They, as well as [Roy] Keane and [Claude] Makelele, were wonderful footballers but they never overcomplicated things and knew what their games were and knew what their weaknesses were, and I do too.

“I think some fans are calling on social media for me to get the ball off Lukasz Fabianski and run the whole length of the pitch and score with the back of my head, but that’s not my job!

“My job is to protect the team, have good positional awareness, get on the ball, keep it simple and keep it ticking.

“I know what my strengths are and what to base my game around.”

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