West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice is producing a number of high-quality performances in the Premier League this season.
West Ham fans on Twitter have backed Declan Rice’s decision to pick England over the Republic of Ireland after he pledged his international future to the country of his birth.
The London-born player announced on his personal Twitter account that he had telephoned Ireland boss Mick McCarthy and England manager Gareth Southgate to inform them of his decision.
Rice already has three caps for ROI, but they were all friendly encounters which provides him with the opportunity of switching country allegiances.
There is no doubt that Rice’s decision is a controversial one because he has already played for Ireland and it could be argued the three caps he earned could have been given to another player now he has opted to represent the Three Lions.
But his own club supporters were pretty supportive of his decision as some were backing him to become both England and West Ham captain in the near future.
Here is a selection of West Ham fans on Twitter reacting to the Rice news:
Over the course of the season, Rice has played 23 league games for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, scoring his first goal for the club against Arsenal in January, according to transfermarkt.
Rice can also play at centre-back, but he has been deploying the number six position and it seems that he will be playing there on a regular basis from now on.
Nonetheless, with Rice switching to England, he will now be looking to earn his first call-up to Gareth Southgate’s squad ahead of the international fixtures next month.
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