All aboard the Declan Rice bandwagon.
It's been quite a while since Ireland has had a young footballing talent break through into not just a Premier League outfit, but become a key player for the international side, but if Declan Rice continues to play the way he has been for both club and country we need look no longer.
The 19-year-old has now earned himself three caps for Martin O'Neill's side in recent friendlies, and while he has played the majority of his club career at centre-half, OTB's Kevin Kilbane said on the AM show this morning that he views him as a midfielder in the country set-up due to the ability he has on the ball, something the team has lacked in the middle of the pitch in recent years.
"He wants to take the ball, he wants to change play, he wants to pass it forward, he's doing things that frankly our midfielders haven't been doing for a long time".
"He's started the last couple of games in midfield and he's been the standout player. He's 19-years-old, and we talk about putting too much pressure on the players but if he wants to play and wants to enjoy it, just go with it".
Despite more talk in the English press about the possibility of Rice changing allegiances to England, the country of his birth, the player himself has refuted those claims and Kilbane has lauded his confidence and the attitude he show shown on and off the field so0 far in his fledgling career.
"You can clearly tell he's confident, but he's not brash, he's not overconfident, he's just 'yeah I want to take it, this is where I've played. I've come through a system where I'm comfortable on the ball, I want to be part of this squad'. Clearly he enjoys being around the Irish squad, even Noel King's Under-21 squad where he's played with the senior squad then joined back up with them, he wants to be part of something so just let him play".
While his age may be a factor for some, with more and more pressure being put on his shoulders over such a short period of time, Kilbane believes that he's capable of dealing with it, and that it's clear West Ham and Ireland feel the same. The former Ireland international also praised his admittance of mistakes near the end of the season with West Ham, but noted their reluctance to drop him over said defensive slips.
"He's a quality footballer and he has to play now. I wouldn't want to be as strong as to say you build the team around him, but it's almost the fact now that when we're playing with two midfielders or three, he'll be part of the midfield now".
"He spoke about his mistakes in the lead up to the France game last week, just saying 'yeah, I made mistakes, that's just the way that it is'. Everyone across their career, it doesn't matter what age they are, they're going to make mistakes. They're going to make howlers that'll cost goals, particularly if you're playing at centre-half like he is. I think that shows his maturity and the responsibility that's been given to him at West Ham and how much belief that they've got in him, that they're willing to go 'we're playing you at centre-half, we're in a relegation battle and we're playing you' ".
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