Declan Rice and Lisandro Martínez are among the top players the Premier League has to offer. Both players have risen to top players in their respective teams and positions. They were showered with praises recently by veteran footballers.
Kieran Trippier thinks Rice is better than Casemiro and Partey
Only 24 years old and already 222 games in the first of West Ham United behind your name. Declan Rice is again making a big impression in the Premier League this season and can count on a lot of interest. According to Kieran Trippier, he is even better than Casemiro and Thomas Partey.
Rice is reportedly in the interest of several top English clubs. Both Manchester United and Arsenal are linked to the midfielder. Both clubs already have an excellent controller in Casemiro and Partey, but according to Trippier they cannot match Rice’s level.
“Declan is really unbelievable,” Trippier, Rice’s teammate on the England national team, said in Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE. The defender acknowledges that Casemiro and Partey are Premier League stars this season, but thinks Rice is still above that. “He’s probably one of the best players in the world at what he does,” he added.
He continues, “Don’t get me wrong, Casemiro is also a world class player, but at the moment Declan is really peerless. His intelligence on the ball, knowing when to slow down or speed up, his dribbling, his power. Really unbelievable. And he also has an attractive age for clubs.”
Rio Ferdinand impressed by Martínez’ physical prowess
Rio Ferdinand is next in line to express his admiration for Manchester United defender Lisandro Martínez. The Argentinian initially received a lot of criticism, especially for his relatively short stature, but Ferdinand has completely turned around.
“I wondered if he could physically handle this, but in its current form I don’t think anyone will come close to him. He is dominant, aggressive, is a leader, communicates well, he shows character and he is there in the big moments,” he mentioned.
Ferdinand immediately also praised another Ajax asset at Old Trafford, namely manager Erik ten Hag. He would have created the conditions under which world champion Martínez can excel. “Ten Hag has managed that opponents don’t get the ball enough to isolate Martínez with a direct opponent. We don’t see him being physically outclassed yet. So far that is worth a compliment to him, but also to the scouting team,” the former defender added.
Martínez had a few difficult first weeks in England, with some big defeats. Since then, United has developed into an increasingly stable team, in which Martínez is certain of his place for the time being despite competition from, for example, Harry Maguire. A few weeks ago he even scored his first goal for his new club, although in the end it was worth little because the match was lost 3-2 at leader Arsenal.
