West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice recently switched his international allegiance to England and Chris Sutton has had his say on the matter.
The BBC Sport pundit claims that Rice’s decision was motivated by the lack of quality in the Ireland team.
The quality of players in the England setup is considerably higher and Rice wants to perform alongside them, as per Sutton.
“It wouldn’t have happened ten years ago. It’s because the Ireland team are so bad. We cannot question his ambition. He’s a better player than Eric Dier. He’s a better technician than Dier,” Sutton told BBC Sport.
“It’s because the Ireland team are so bad!”@Chris_Sutton73 will ruffle a few feathers with this take…
He says the Declan Rice situation wouldn’t have arisen 10 years ago.#bbcfacup #facup #CHEMUN #WHUFC pic.twitter.com/X9Uq8breDl
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) February 18, 2019
It will be interesting to see if the player has something to say about this in future. In the meantime, the Irish fans won’t be too happy about these comments.
Losing a player of Declan Rice’ calibre is a big blow for any side. The youngster has been phenomenal for West Ham United this season and he is already one of the best players in his position in the country.
Rice is likely to get better with time and Southgate’s England will only benefit from that. The Three Lions were lacking an assured presence at the centre of the park and with Rice, they can finally put together a formidable midfield ahead of the Euros.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
