The one that won’t get away. Hopefully.
West Ham defender Declan Rice has reportedly reaffirmed his future to the Republic of Ireland. There had been growing fears among Ireland fans that the highly-rated 19-year-old would defect to England and follow in Jack Grealish’s footsteps.
However, according to reports, Rice is comfortable with his decision to declare for Ireland and has no interest in representing England, despite interest from Gareth Southgate.
The London-born centre-half is eligible to play for Ireland through his paternal grandparents, who were from Cork, and will be available for selection to Martin O’Neill for the upcoming friendlies against Turkey and France.
Rice has represented Ireland throughout his youth career and is now expected to be given his senior international debut by O’Neill after impressing for the Hammers in the Premier League this season.
Rice impressed O’Neill and Roy Keane when he linked up with the Ireland team during a training camp at Fota Island last year and is tipped to be a central figure in the coming years, with the coaching staff keen to overhaul the current squad by bringing through as many promising youngsters as possible.
These developments will be a source of relief to Ireland fans following Grealish’s decision to declare for England in 2015. Another player who could be dragged into an international tug-of-war is Southampton striker Michael Obafemi. The 17-year-old made his Premier League debut for the Saints recently and, while he was born in Dublin, is also eligible to play for Nigeria and England, with the former set to battle Ireland for his allegiance.
O’Neill recently hinted at a potential call-up for Obafemi with the Ireland boss committing to a policy that will promote Ireland’s youth talent during the post-World Cup play-off rebuilding.
“With Obafemi, I think we have to look at these things, O’Neill said recently. “When somebody comes to the fore and gets on for a little while, I know these surges have happened before but yeah, we’re keeping an eye on him.
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