Rice has just spent six months adapting well to the 8. He's become more alert to opportunities and developed a knack for the odd disguised or ad hoc creative pass, and he's upped his end product. I think he is already as good as Xhaka's best up there.
Rice brings us balance in the advanced role because even though he isn't an elite creator or striker, he's superb off the ball—vital to our game and always lacking when the likes of Vieira and Trossard step in—and he has the engine to rove back for full matches to support a more cultured passer. You'd need a left-sided Øde-clone to suit us much better, in which case, yes.
On the other hand, if we snap up a prime age, motivated and durable deep-lying playmaker who can handle a few defensive responsibilities, we wouldn't just have someone there with a higher ceiling on his passing than Rice. It would give us an additional boost by liberating Ødegaard from two-way duties.
