Declan Rice could start to cement his international future – and probably with England – if he can perform against Chelsea as he did at Everton last weekend.
The 19 year old was deeply impressive against the Toffees and looks certain to be involved on Sunday against the team that rejected him as a kid.
The result was that he came to West Ham and the rest looks like becoming some great history for a player who soon needs to decide whether he will choose Ireland or England as his international team.
With Gareth Southgate wanting to see him in first team action before being tempted to pull him into the England squad this is a critical period for the player.
With an international break in October and a series of first team games before him the feeling is that inclusion in the Hammers team will see him opting for England.
Top displays against Chelsea, Man United and Brighton could be three of the most important games the teenager will play,
Slightly a bit more to it than that Hugh. For an England future, Rice needs to be with a more successful club than West Ham. He can have a future with the Ireland team if he plays with any club. It all hangs on whether our club do a deal with him or not. Rice could take the deal that West Ham are offering on condition that he is allowed to speak to the first club that offers £40m. All we know is that Rices new agent is a tough nut to deal with.
I think you are all missing the point just because he is playing well for us doesn’t mean he will choose England. Ireland is not a fallback option. I’m a proud Irish hammer and he has played for us 3 times already. It’s his decision and what he feels in his heart.
I’d like him to wear the Irish shirt mate as i’m Irish myself. My problem is, Rice has always stated how happy he was to stay playing for Ireland but these statements have all stopped. I fear he will get an England call up as will Jack Grealish. I recall when bobby Robson was England manager, he gave out England caps for fun. The players who won them never went on to win any more but they were deprived of an international career with Wales, Scotland and Ireland. I can see the same thing happen with Southgate, he’s also toying with the idea of giving a call up to a young Wolves player and to be honest, I feel Rice is as good as any of them but I don’t think that playing for West Ham ticks any boxes for getting multiple England call ups.
I am not Irish but you can tell how proud Rice is of his Irish roots, if he chooses to play for England he has the wrong people in his camp that are only interested in greed.