The West Ham United star Declan Rice has no doubt regarding his England teammate’s abilities on the field.
Declan Rice supported his talented England colleague Mason Mount following rough criticism against him. The Chelsea starlet was surprised to see his fellow countryman Jack Grealish’s call up for the Three Lions. The Aston Villa midfielder made a glamorous start to his England spell vs Wales by assisting and receiving the man of the match award.
However, Grealish did not make it for the UEFA Nations League games against Belgium and Denmark. Mount though featured in the starting line-up ahead of his teammate, netting a goal in the 2-1 win over Belgium. But the Chelsea center half could not create a difference in the 1-0 defeat against Denmark. Questions arose following Gareth Southgate’s selection policy after this loss.
Mount denied the small talk before England’s 3-0 victory vs Ireland saying: “I’m a player that wants to do their best for the team and work hard. And maybe people take that the wrong way, I don’t know.
“I’m not one to really look too much into social media and that side of it. I know it’s big in football now, especially when the fans are not at the stadium.
“It doesn’t really bother me too much.”
They know each other very well.
Rice is adamant to see his teammates quality going under scrutiny and believes that the midfielder has proved himself enough. Both played together during their time at Chelsea’s youth academy.
“No, we don’t speak about it but I think it is very harsh. I witness it when we train here and I have trained with him since he was a kid so I know what his mentality is like.
“I know how hard-working and driven he is so it is no surprise that Gareth and Frank pick him. If you give any Premier League manager a chance to pick him, they will pick him because as an individual, he is a top talent – so definitely I think the criticism is very harsh.”
Furthermore, Rice talked about the differences between Grealish and Mount.
“If you look at Jack and you look at Mason, they are playing in two different areas of the pitch.
“Mason at Chelsea is playing as an attacking eight and Jack at Villa is playing off the left. I think you all saw the other night that they can play together, I am sure.
“They are both great players that we should be valuing. For the nation and for me, as someone who gets to play with these players, we’re lucky that we get to play with such talents.”
Be sure not to miss out on the latest news about England
Download our brand new App and follow your favorite players, clubs, and much more
