Former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino believes Declan Rice should pledge his allegiance to England ahead of the Republic of Ireland.
London-born Rice is still eligible to play for the Three Lions despite already making three senior appearances for Ireland.
Cascarino, a pundit and presenter on talkSPORT, feels West Ham youngster Rice is ‘good enough’ to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s plans and challenge for silverware.
In his column for the Times, he writes: “Declan Rice is getting better and better.
“He was brilliant against Arsenal and it raised the question once again of who he chooses between Ireland and England.
“It’s almost going to be like a club transfer when it comes down to his final choice.
“Will he want to win things or just settle for being the best player in a mediocre team?
“For that reason I believe he’s going to declare for England.
“He’s good enough to get in and he’ll want to challenge for trophies. You can’t blame him.”
Cascarino, who made 88 appearances for the Republic of Ireland, believes the best Rice could hope for by playing for the Boys in Green is qualifying for the occasional tournament.
He added: “England are in a different position: they look like they are developing a team who could win a tournament and having Rice in it could only boost them.
“With Ireland they could build the team around him and hope to qualify for the odd tournament.”
Rice celebrates turning 20 today (Monday), two days after scoring his first ever goal for West Ham in their defeat of Arsenal.
The Football Association of Ireland congratulated Rice on his birthday, sharing a picture on Twitter of him wearing an Ireland shirt.
England legend Gary Lineker responded to the tweet by suggesting the green ‘clashes with his eyes’, which will play a part in Rice deciding to represent the Three Lions moving forwards.
