Declan Rice had been loosely linked with a move to Real Madrid on more than one occasion over the years. Things never got serious though and ultimately, the England international left West Ham United in the summer to join Arsenal in one of the most expensive transfers ever. Manchester City were also keen on him but lost out in the race.
Rice has made a promising start to life at Arsenal and certainly looks the part. He recently scored a 96th-minute goal against Manchester United.
At times, Rice does not get enough credit for how good he is. A lot of that might have been down to him playing for West Ham United, who are not one of the contenders in the Premier League. But now that he is at Arsenal, things could change for the England midfielder.
Interestingly, Rice appears to have a lot of respect for Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni. There was speculation about the Frenchman’s future this summer but he stayed put at Santiago Bernabeu and has reestablished himself as a starter.
Arsenal star makes claim about Real Madrid player
As reported by talkSPORT, when asked by Joe Cole about who he believes are the top midfielders in Europe right now, Rice told Channel 4:
"“Tchouameni at Real Madrid, he’s a youngster as well, he’s aggressive, gets on the ball, goes forward with it, he’s very good.”"
The others he named are Rodri of Manchester City and two of his Arsenal teammates Jorginho and Thomas Partey. A good list.
Tchouameni arrived at Real Madrid last year and he made a brilliant start to life in the Spanish capital. His form seemed to drop after the World Cup and it is worth mentioning that he missed a penalty in the final against Argentina. That might have had a negative impact on his confidence.
He was not at his best in the second half of last season and appeared to lose his status as a regular starter. But he is back playing at a very high level now and is once a key part of Carlo Ancelotti’s plans.