West Ham United star Declan Rice may have barely played this season, but he has still been making headlines.
Rice shot to prominence last season with West Ham and cemented his place in the first team.
He also enjoyed a meteoric rise on the international scene electing to play for Ireland.
Rice then marked his Republic of Ireland debut with a man of the match display.
But last week Martin O’Neill told the world Rice had asked for time to choose between Ireland and England.
“England have spoken to him,” O’Neill told BBC Sport when asked why Rice had been omitted from his squad.
“He is taking time to make his mind up.”
Under pressure
That invited a deluge of criticism and opinion from Rice’s teammates, fans and pundits, a lot of it negative.
Mark Noble came out in support of Rice while Manuel Pellegrini told him to go with his heart.
A multitude of theories about why Rice was reassessing his options have also abound.
England boss Gareth Southgate confirmed he likes Rice but stopped short of guaranteeing him a place in future squads.
Southgate also issued a word of caution about the pressure the situation had put Rice under.
At the same time another central midfielder or English origin, Harry Arter, had also made himself unavailable for selection.
Keane not to blame
One of the reasons behind Arter absence according to O’Neill was a bust-up with assistant boss and controversial football figure Roy Keane.
Pushed on whether the altercation with Keane had been a factor, he admitted: “That might be part of the reason; might well be. I wouldn’t deny that that’s the case. But he has a number of things to consider,” O’Neill told the Irish Times.
That led to the inevitable question, was Keane also the reason behind Rice’s situation too?
Not according to O’Neill.
“No,” he told the Irish Times.
“There is not an ounce of truth in that.
“I’ve not spoken to Declan directly, I have obviously spoken to the family but Declan is taking a little bit of time (to think things over),” O’Neill added.
‘A totally different situation’
“I think that’s a totally different situation. Declan is a young fellow at 19 years of age, obviously we are very, very keen to have him, obviously he has played senior football for us and of course when the country of your birth comes calling it stops you in your tracks a little bit.
“Naturally we’d be delighted if he comes to us but he may just need a little bit of time to make that decision.”
So there you have it from the man in charge, fearsome Keane is not behind Rice’s hesitancy over his Ireland future.
If anything Rice could learn a great deal from Keane.
The former Manchester United star was one of the best players of his generation in the very position the young West Ham star made his own last season.
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