daredevil I don't know if I agree with this. Squads evolve and I think our next evolution has to be to a midfield setup with Rice at the 6. Of course we will hear complaints about his progressive passing but whenever he's had a chance to show it off, he's been solid iMO. I also think you can adapt to that by moving to a structure that I am a fan of which is pushing Odegaard deeper as a buildup specialist and bringing in a more output focused CAM to play where Odegaard plays now. Merino is versatile enough to provide depth at both of those positions and hopefully MLS can also provide depth at the 6 next year (as well as LB). There are far more options out there for advanced midfield roles - can go from the top of the market with Wirtz and Musiala to other good signings like Reijnders, Eze, Gibbs-White, Sudakov, Moleiro) and I want Rice in a more defensive role with two midfielders ahead of him that are better technicians, playmakers and ideally, can provide some goals).
With inverting outside backs like Timber/White and Calafiori/MLS, ball progression shouldn't be an issue and I think we struggle more with playmaking in the final third. I haven't seen Partey or Jorginho help much in that, nor has Rice in an advanced 8 role provided a ton of value there. A midfield like the following would be my (realistic) dream:
----- Rice (Merino/MLS) -----
Reijnders (Nwaneri) -- Odegaard (Merino)
