West Ham board confirm the sudden return of former player and his signed of new contract deal with club

Former West Ham and England player Stuart Pearce believes there’s no reason why Declan Rice can’t become Three Lions captain one day.

Rice, 20, was called up to Gareth Southgate’s squad for their Euro 2020 qualifiers against Czech Republic and Montenegro later this month, just weeks after the Hammers midfielder switched allegiance from the Republic of Ireland.

London-born Rice was eligible for Ireland as that’s where his father is from and he played for the senior team three times but was able to change nationalities as these appearances only came in friendlies.

Rice is one of the bright young prospects in the Premier League and he has even been linked with a summer move to Manchester City.

And Pearce, who made 78 appearances for the Three Lions and worked closely with Rice when he was assistant manager at West Ham last season spoke to Adrian Durham and Darren Gough on Drivetime about Southgate’s latest squad.

And when asked whether Rice could lead England later in his career, Pearce said: “I don’t see any reason why not, it just depends on how he develops as a man but on working with him I think from footballing terms he’s above his years.

“He’s gaining great experience at West Ham and this will only be good for him to work with Steve Holland, work with Gareth Southgate and rub shoulders with some of the top players in the Premier League.”

“He’s made a big call with regards to representing the Republic of Ireland first before deciding to trade allegiance with England.

The decision brings a little bit of pressure with it and certainly with these early squads.”