Declan Rice: England manager Gareth Southgate explains what makes West Ham star unique

Declan Rice: England manager Gareth Southgate explains what makes West Ham star unique
Gareth Southgate says he cant wait to work with Declan Rice after giving the West Ham midfielder his first England call-up.The 20-year-old, who recently switched allegiance from Ireland, was named in the squad to face the Czech Republic and Montenegro in the Euro 2020 qualifiers later this month.And the England boss has described Rice as a hugely promising and unique character.Weve become more and more excited about working with him. Hes been an essential part of West Hams team this season, hes playing with tactical maturity and hes good technically,” Southgate told talkSPORT.2

Declan Rice has earned his first England call-up

“Its also clear to see what a leader he is on the pitch at such a young age. You dont find too many of those sort of characters.”Rice had featured in three friendlies for the Republic of Ireland, but the London-born midfielder remained eligible for England and announced his decision to switch last month.And Southgate insists he understands the gravity of midfielders decision. When youre asking a playing to consider changing association thats a big life decision, he added.We wanted to make sure we were getting a player who had a genuine chance of being a senior international and, given his age, we saw that over a period of time.Rice is the only uncapped player to feature in a squad which generally favours the tried and tested.2

James Ward-Prowse missed out on a recall

There is no place for Southamptons James Ward-Prowse, who was tipped to earn a recall after a fine run of form, while Fabian Delph retains his place despite an extended spell on the sidelines for Manchester City.Nonetheless, Southgate insists there remains fierce competition for places in his squad.Even though one or two have had injury problems or not been selected with us, their performances with us were outstanding, he continued.

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• Bayern Munich vs Liverpool (Wednesday) – talkSPORT
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• Watford vs Crystal Palace (Saturday) – talkSPORT
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• Fulham vs Liverpool (Sunday) – talkSPORT

So I think its important to keep a show of faith but weve also got to pick a team which is physically in the right place and form-wise in the right place and we wont just keep players in on reputation as we go forward.There is great competition, not only from the injured players but also players who have been very close this time.

England squad in full

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ross Barkley (Chelsea), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Ben Chilwell(Leicester City), Dele (Tottenham Hotspur), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Tom Heaton (Burnley), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Michael Keane (Everton), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), Jordan Pickford(Everton), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Declan Rice (West Ham United), Danny Rose(Tottenham Hotspur), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), John Stones (Manchester City), James Tarkowski (Burnley), Kieran Trippier(Tottenham Hotspur), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Callum Wilson (AFC Bournemouth)

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