Jose Mourinho has singled out Declan Rice as one of the key men for England ahead of the European Championships.
The former Tottenham and Manchester United manager was effusive in his praise of Rice and the balance that he brings to teams.
Mourinho's former club Manchester United are reported to still retain an interest in the 22-year-old but West Ham remain steadfast in the position that their star man is not for sale at any cost.
Rice's long contract and West Ham's fine season, culminating with qualification for the Europa League, mean the club are under no pressure to sell and the midfielder is unlikely to push for a move.
The former Chelsea academy player has established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League and a key cog in Gareth Southgate's England squad and Mourinho is a big fan.
"First of all, I like the boy. I like what he shows me. He is mature, calm, a team player who doesn’t think about himself. He always has the correct answers and gives incredible stability to the team," Mourinho told The Times.
It is this stability that Mourinho has highlighted as imperative for England if they wish to get the best out of their attacking players during the European Championships.
"It is one thing to play in the qualification phase, where you play against teams where you don’t need balance to beat any team 5-0, but when you get to the final phases you play against good teams with good attacking players and then you need balance.
"A team without balance is not a team. Rice is this kind of player. If you have a good back four or back three with a player like Rice in front, England can have more attacking freedom."
Hammers manager David Moyes has valued Rice at well over £100million and reiterated on a number of occasions that the England international is not for sale at any price.
However, if Rice was to star for his country throughout the summer, West Ham might have to brace themselves for bids that come close to the "Bank of England" money Moyes says it would take to prise his star asset away.
Whether or not the Hammers keep hold of their vice-captain will go a long way to showing if this season was a one-off or if West Ham under Moyes are ready to lay the foundations for an ambitious future.
