Aside from sorting out his future at West Ham, midfielder Declan Rice is also in the process of working out his international future with the Republic of Ireland and England both chasing him.
Rice has turned out three times for Ireland in friendlies, but that has opened the door for the Three Lions to swoop in and attempt to get the 19-year-old to switch allegiances after his emergence as a star for the Hammers.
Developments at Ireland in recent weeks have seen Martin O’Neill relieved of his duties, with Mick McCarthy now taking the reins ahead of Euro 2020.
McCarthy has already addressed questions about Rice’s future, revealing that he is planning talks next month with the West Ham player and his father.
As quoted by RTE, McCarthy said: “Well he has got in the West Ham team, he is going well and I am going to speak to him in December when his father is around and I’m going to sit down and have a chat with them both.”
While you may not think that Rice’s international future has much to do with West Ham, his continued uncertainty over his allegiance will indeed be affecting the club.
The Hammers ideally want his international future sorted out as soon as possible so Rice can fully focus on the rest of the season with the club and also give more thought to a potential new contract.
While the decision itself is not necessarily important – although you would think that the commitments for Ireland would be slightly less taxing than for England – the timing of his choice does matter.
Hopefully for West Ham these talks scheduled for December lead to a final decision on Rice’s international allegiance, and he can get on with things more certain of his future.
Having Rice concentrated on the season ahead is crucial if the Hammers want to make anything of the campaign, and these upcoming talks will go a long way to making that happen.