Declan Rice has stepped in to cool the debate raging amongst England fans over whether Gareth Southgate should drop Mason Mount to make way for Jack Grealish.
England fans, mostly those of an Aston Villa persuasion, have fumed at Southgate's recent selection decisions with Grealish often cast aside.
But the 25-year-old's mighty form in the Premier League has all eyes on him once again ahead of two up and coming Nations League games - and Mount, a regular under Southgate, has inadvertently come under harsh criticism.
Grealish himself has waded in on the debate, dubbing cries to see "underrated" Mount as "annoying."
And now Rice has joined the argument, hailing his former Chelsea youth partner's immense training ground commitment and asking England fans: 'Why can't they both play together?'.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Nations League fixture against Belgium, Rice said, as cited by Metro : "I think it’s very harsh.
"I witness it here when I come to train here. I trained with him since I was a kid I know what his mentality is like. I know how hard he works and how driven it is and it’s no surprise that Gareth picks him, that Frank [Lampard] picks him.
"I think if you give every Premier League manager the chance to pick him they would pick him because if you see him day in and day out and what he gives to the team and as an individual, he’s a top talent. I definitely think the criticism is very harsh."
He added: "I think if you look at Jack and look at Mason there will always be comparisons but they are playing in pretty much two different areas of the pitch.
"Mason at Chelsea is playing as an attacking number eight and Jack is play off the left.
"I think, as you saw the other night, they can play in the same team and they are both great players we should be valuing."
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