Pellegrini believes Rice has credentials for English breakthrough

WEST HAM manager Manuel Pellegrini believes that Declan Rice is good enough to play for England.

But he has indicated that the youngster should follow his heart when making a final call on his international future.

The teenager was involved in West Ham’s EFL Cup win over Wimbledon on Tuesday and it was inevitable that his club boss would be asked to weigh into the debate over the player’s intentions.

He didn’t give much away, but his suggestion that Rice should not be afraid of the challenge of breaking into the England set-up is in line with the thinking of West Ham co-owner

David Gold, who has been open about what he wants the player to do.

And the Chilean suggested that he has made that point to the teenager – without pushing him in a particular direction.

“Declan has a big problem,” said Pellegrini. “But I think that his heart must decide if he feels more Irish or more England.

“Maybe for him it can be more easy to play for Ireland but if you trust in yourself and feel that you are an English player...

“It is a personal decision. It is very difficult to give advice but I am always speaking with him because he is young and he has a big future. I speak with him about a lot of different issues.

“He is a player that is completing his development in a physical way. He is a strong player, a good technical player. With England, he will have big competition but I think he is able to take that challenge – that’s without me giving him a decision. He must take the decision himself.”

England manager Gareth Southgate names his squad for their September games today but Rice is not eligible for inclusion.

If he opted to declare for England, he would have to go through a lengthy transfer process that requires the participation of the FAI and FIFA and it would be a challenge to get the paperwork completed and ratified this side of Christmas.

Once he embarks on that paper chain there is no turning back even if England opt against calling him in. Meanwhile, former Ireland international Kevin Kilbane has doubled down on his view that Rice should not be called up again by Martin O’Neill after taking time to think about whether he wanted to play in a competitive match. Kilbane was a guest on the new LOI Weekly podcast and he articulated his belief that the majority of the Ireland dressing room would feel the same way.

“If I was a part of that squad I wouldn’t be happy about him coming back in,” said Kilbane. “The English-born lads who would probably have preferred to play for England would have empathy for him but I would vote against it and I would imagine the majority of the squad would as well.

“If he doesn’t play again for Ireland – I wouldn’t pick him again – he’s taken three caps away from another player regardless of their ability and you might only get one opportunity to play for your country.”

For the full LOI Weekly podcast – which includes Kilbane’s Rice stance, an interview with Daryl Horgan about his move to Hibernian and Shamrock Rovers midfielder Greg Bolger on their shock win in Dundalk – go to independent.ie/podcasts