Declan Rice is being tipped to make his England debut on Friday night when the Three Lions face Czech Republic at Wembley and he's got the backing to play over a Spurs rival.
The West Ham midfielder has been called into the England squad for the first time and at the first opportunity since he switched his international allegiance from Ireland to England. Rice played for the Irish in three senior friendlies but not a competitive game, allowing him to make the move when Gareth Southgate came calling.
Rice was the only new face in the squad until the late call-up for Chelsea's Callum Hudson-Odoi and both are expected to be big stars on England's future in midfield and in attack.
An injury to Jordan Henderson, who has been training at St George's Park, had seen Rice's chances of getting a start on Friday night grow massively ahead of Spurs rival for the same spot, Eric Dier.
Why Declan Rice is the perfect defensive midfielder that Pochettino and Spurs are crying out for
Pundit Tony Cascarino, who played 88 times for the Republic of Ireland between 1985 and 1999, believes that the 20-year-old is already better than Dier, who reached the World Cup semi finals with England last summer.
Cascarino said: "He looks like a veteran of 300 league appearances. He is so composed, a master of simplicity who sits in front of the back four and refuses to give the ball away. He’s better than Eric Dier, who does a similar job for Tottenham.
West Ham star Declan Rice reveals how he found out about his first England call-up from sick bed
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