England manager Gareth Southgate is expected to personally check on West Ham midfielder Declan Rice when the Hammers square up against Wolves on tonight (Tuesday), according to ESPN.
The 20-year-old midfielder has been a standout performer for Manuel Pellegrini’s side this season, and is facing a choice in the near future over whether he wishes to switch his international allegiance to England or remain a Republic of Ireland player.
Rice has yet to make a competitive appearance for the Irish and is therefore still eligible to represent England, the country of his birth, but will have to make a decision soon with qualification for Euro 2020 kicking off in March.
OPINION
Rice has a huge decision to make in the very near future, and it’s a smart move from Southgate to go along and watch the youngster in the flesh. There’s no doubting his quality, and this will be far from a traditional scouting mission, but it will illustrate to Rice just how much he is rated by the Three Lions, and could convince him to switch his allegiance. The 20-year-old has been one of, if not the, hottest young talent in English football this season, and all the signs would suggest that he is good enough to slot straigth into the national team and make that defensive midfield position his own. That holding role has been a little bit of a problem area in recent times, and having a long term solution with the potential that Rice does would be a massive coup for England. Ireland would offer him the chance to be the biggest player in their team for the next decade, but playing for England, with the current crop of stars breaking through, could be too good an opportunity to turn down.