Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Sam Inkersole

West Ham star Declan Rice posts brilliant throwback photo with Spurs striker Harry Kane

It's pretty clear that West Ham midfielder Declan Rice has had arguably the best fortnight of his life after making his England debut and first start for the Three Lions during the international break.

The 20-year-old only had his paperwork to switch his international allegiance from Ireland to England three weeks ago but after it went through, was immediately called up to Gareth Southgate's squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Czech Republic and Montengro, with Rice featuring off the bench in the former and playing the full 90 in the latter.

England beat the Czechs 5-0 last week and stuck another five past Montenegro on Monday night to tally ten goals scored and one conceded across the two games, with six points earned in the process.

Rice earned plenty of plaudits for his performance in the hostile surrounding of Podgorica after a nervy start, he got better and better and produced a performance West Ham fans are used to seeing from him week in and week out.

Everton sweating on fitness of key defender after limping out of Colombia defeat  

The youngster played in the same team as Spurs striker Harry Kane for both of the internationals over the last few days and it reminded Rice of something he asked for when he was coming through the Hammers academy, as you can see below.

As the an himself says: "From asking Harry Kane for a picture in 2014, to my England teammate in 2019. What a journey!"

Indeed, what a journey. Rice played three times for the senior Republic of Ireland team before England came calling as Rice was born in London. Former FA technical director Dan Ashworth and Gareth Southgate made their pitch to the Hammers midfielder and after a few months of deliberating, opted to switch to England.

Declan Rice opens up on first England experience as midfielder returns to West Ham  

Rice has already made 63 senior appearances for West Ham and penned a new five-and-a-half year contract at the London Stadium on December 28 last year.

Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android .  

Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.