The Declan Rice saga is over.
On Wednesday afternoon, Rice released a statement in which he revealed that he had decided to declare for England after taking some time to consider his international future.
The coveted midfielder was pursued for what seemed like an age by Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane before Mick McCarthy took up where they left off with fresh attempts to convince the West Ham player to commit his allegiance to the Republic of Ireland.
Rice represented Ireland at several underage levels but never made a competitive appearance for the senior team, leaving the door open for Gareth Southgate to swoop in for the 20-year-old.
He has decided to represent England, the country of his birthhttps://t.co/C5Sn2xQb8Y
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 13, 2019
Fans of England and West Ham are now celebrating Rice’s decision, with the Hammers’ chairman David Gold taking a pop at ex-Ireland assistant manager, Keane, for comments he made about the youngster last year.
“It’s going to be pretty difficult as he’s Irish,” Keane responded when asked about Gold’s hope to see Rice become a full England international.
“Where else would he want to go? It’s pretty straightforward. He is Irish.”
Rice declared himself “a proud Englishman” is his lengthy statement this week and Gold didn’t hesitate to remind Keane of his remarks.
Not as difficult as you thought Roy 😉 https://t.co/GHsyOEIcz6
— David Gold (@davidgold) February 13, 2019
We doubt he’d say it to Keane’s face, mind.
