RICE ON THE RISE

With the Irish Premier League presence dwindling, West Ham teenager Declan Rice is going to inherit a new audience watching his every move

HE’S 18 years of age and breaking into the Premier League at a time when one good contract can set a player up for life. It is hard, therefore, to argue that Declan Rice deserves sympathy.

But in the context of his Irish career, it feels like the West Ham starlet is about to get a raw deal. Irish teenagers in the Premier League are no longer like buses. These days, it’s a case of waiting for one, and when it arrives you pile onto it because there is no guarantee another will be coming along any time soon.

A dozen Irishmen have lined out in this season’s top flight, and the second youngest after Rice is 25-yearold Jeff Hendrick. Like Shane Duffy and Robbie Brady, he was born in January 1992. Rice was born in London in January 1999. Ireland really needs his career to work out.

And this is what’s unfair. Last Sunday’s defeat to Manchester City was Rice’s eighth Premier League appearance and in another era he would be progressing away under the radar without attracting much comment.

The West Ham teamsheets would not be watched that closely if there were a number of other Irish players around his age group making their way at first-team level.

It is natural that he will be taken out of the firing line for certain games, and there should be no overreaction to the highs and lows he will likely encounter in these formative days.

But it would disappointing if David Moyes left him out of today’s lunchtime encounter with Chelsea because it’s a fixture that would give the promising teen a chance to show his first club what he’s missing. He was allowed to leave Chelsea at the age of 14 and move to their London rivals, although he did enough in his time at the club to make an impression on his idol John Terry. In August, Terry posted a picture with Rice for his social media audience with the endorsement that he was on the way to becoming a very good player. In the aftermath of his City showing, Jamie Redknapp said the rookie’s display was reminiscent of a young Terry. Therefore, the clamour to include Rice in the next senior squad in March is understandable, although he has arguably benefited from full involvement in a promising start to the European qualifiers for the Irish U-21 side. But there is an urgency about calls to fast-track him because of the shortage of alternatives. That is outside his control, but it means that Rice has pressure on his shoulders before his career has even properly started.

This emergence is a welcome development for Martin O’Neill, who has bemoaned the fact that he inherited an ageing squad. He immediately dialled up Rice last May when the then Irish U-19 international was given a chance by Slaven Bilic on the last day of the Premier League season. That kicked off a whirlwind week where he ended up in Fota Island for a meet and greet with the Ireland senior squad ahead of their summer gathering.

It illustrated the Irish need to be pro-active about any player with the ability to mix at Premier League level. No member of staff explicitly said it at the time, but it seems safe to assume that Rice’s individual circumstances demanded haste. Every English-born player making inroads is on the radar of their FA too and that attention turned the head of Jack Grealish.

Call it paranoia or pragmatism, but every other player that has been recruited through eligibility rules is now viewed as a possible candidate for a U-turn when their status grows. Rice qualifies through his late Cork grandparents from Douglas and the son of a former semi-professional footballer has never given the slightest impression that he is for turning.

BELTED

He has belted out the anthem before U-21 matches – he could teach a few home-grown lads the words – and seems very satisfied with his choice. “My family are so proud,” he said during the Fota gathering, “I just wish my nan and grandad could be here to see it.”

The FAI’s high performance director Ruud Dokter has been tasked with improving structures at home with a view to creating a better class of player but that remains a complicated political process.

In the meantime, the UK-based talent scout Mark O’Toole is one of the most important people on the Abbotstown books for he has been instrumental in identifying Irishqualified options and then keeping them on board at a time where FIFA rules allow them to shop around.

“Mark O’Toole from the FAI has looked after me well back in England to the point that I consider him a father figure,” said Rice in October. “Mark always told me my chance with Ireland would come once I worked hard and he was right.”

Rice’s club colleague Josh Cullen, who is currently on loan with Bolton, is another rising Irish-qualified talent produced in another jurisdiction. Wolves’ playmaker Connor Ronan, a Rochdale lad, has a big future too. There are Irish-born talents too, with QPR’s Ryan Manning also part of Noel King’s U-21 group, but Rice already looks more advanced than players who have a couple of years on him.

And watching his Irish trajectory is going to be fascinating because of his playing style. Rice is comfortable with the ball at his feet, as evidenced by his ability to be influential for the U-21 side in a defensive midfield role – a position he played as a youth at Chelsea.

His West Ham breakthrough under Bilic came in that department, with a sub cameo at Old Trafford at the beginning of this term notable for his calm distribution.

But Rice describes himself as a centre-back and a few injury issues in that department gave Moyes the opportunity to pitch the cub in there against City as part of a back three.

He was caught out by a clever David Silva run for the winning goal, a slip-up his manager pointed out afterwards, but to be rubbing shoulders with that company is progress – his peers from the Irish set-up are mostly playing nondescript academy games that have a questionable benefit for the longer term.

The favoured approach raises questions about where he might fit into any Irish side. Ciaran Clark and Shane Duffy are both playing regularly in the Premier League and that partnership has worked reasonably well for O’Neill. It’s not exactly the main area of the side that needs addressing.

That shielding position in front of the back four could be a problem with Glenn Whelan’s time probably up, James McCarthy a consistent injury concern, and questions hanging over the tactical discipline of David Meyler and Harry Arter for that specific brief.

A player with real assurance on the ball would be a help, although a centre-half with the ability to do that could also positively influence the playing style too. “I see myself as a ball-playing centre-half that can play with both feet,” he said last year.

SPHERE

This advances the argument to bring Rice in as soon as possible; it’s simply a case of finding out what might suit him best in the international sphere. It’s not just Irish eyes that are monitoring his progress.

He was highlighted by the ‘Match of the Day 2’ panel last Sunday with former centre-half Matt Upson hailing his display. And West Ham academy director Terry Westley has never been shy about singing the praises of a player who has captained sides on his way up the ranks.

“His whole demeanour, the way he goes about the game, the way he drives the team and his all-round ability, which covers all of that – he was the stand-out player on both sides,” said Westley following a ‘Premier League 2’ fixture with Chelsea in October.

“If there is a better young centreback in the country, I haven’t seen him, at least not playing in U-23 football.”

Rice is in with the big boys now. A new and expectant audience will be watching him closely.