England manager Gareth Southgate is sweating over West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice as he hopes to be given the all clear for a Three Lions call up this month, according to the Daily Mirror.
The newspaper claims that Southgate has made the decision to select the 20-year-old, but must wait to find out if Rice’s change of international status has gone through in time for him to make the next squad.
The Mirror’s report states that Rice will have a big chance to make an impact with England due to Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier’s lack of recent game time.
Dier and Rice are similar players in that they are both defensive-minded central midfielders who can also play in defence.
OPINION
This news will come as no surprise to anyone who has followed Southgate’s time in charge of England. The former Middlesbrough boss has been keen from the get-go to integrate young players into his squad as soon as he feels that they are ready. We have seen the likes of Liverpool’s Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho make the breakthrough at international level over the last couple of seasons, and Southgate clearly sees no reason to halt the influx of young talent. Rice, having only just turned 20, fits the bill of a young player performing regularly in the Premier League. Plus, he has had an unbelievable season for the Hammers. As soon as he decided to pick England there was never any doubt that Southgate would hand him a swift call-up. The only question is whether he’ll be eligible to makes this next squad.
