‘Linebreaker’: Jude Bellingham says 24-year-old Arsenal player’s passing is underrated

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The new EA FC video game is releasing later this month, and we’re at the point where we’re starting to get sneak peaks at certain players’ stats in the game.

Speaking on the England YouTube channel, Marcus Rashford, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and James Maddison have all been playing a game where they’ve tried to guess their teammates’ stats on the new EA FC title, and it’s fair to say there were a few points of argument.

One point of contention was Declan Rice’s passing stats.

The Arsenal midfielder has been given a mere 75 rating for his passing, and while that isn’t a good score, Jude Bellingham has jumped to his defence, claiming that Rice’s passing is actually very good, but remains underrated on the game due to the fact he isn’t the most flash passer in the world.

Rice’s passing underrated

Bellingham praised Rice for his linebreaking passing ability.

“I feel like there are a certain type of pass that give you higher stats on this. The linebreakers they don’t really give you those, and you’re a linebreaker aren’t you?” Bellingham said.

Doesn’t translate

Sadly, as anyone who has played these types of games in the past will know, players like Rice are perennially underrated in the virtual world.

Indeed, while Rice is clearly a very talented player, the fact that he doesn’t have many single standout attributes works against him.

Rice is, quite clearly, a very good passer of the ball, but unless you’re assisting goals at the rate of Kevin De Bruyne or Trent Alexander-Arnold, you’re not going to get a top rating in that particular attribute.

Luckily, Rice’s peers recognise just how good he is, and Bellingham was more than happy to set the record straight here.