Declan Rice

Declan Rice was born on 14 January 1999 in Kingston upon Thames, London, to father Sean and mother Stephanie. He has two older brothers, Connor and Jordan. His paternal grandparents were from Douglas, County Cork, in Ireland. He began playing football at Dickerage Lane Adventure Playground in Kingston. In 2006, he joined the Chelsea Academy as a seven-year-old, where he befriended future England teammate Mason Mount. In 2013, after his release at age 14, he joined the West Ham United Academy after a trial period in the spring. Academy coach Trevor Bumstead stated it was Rice's determination and persistence that helped him break through the ranks at West Ham. Rice won the Premier League Cup in 2016 with the under-21s and the Premier League 2 Division 2 in 2020 with the under-23s.

West Ham United

2015–2020

On 16 December 2015, two years after joining West Ham United at youth level, Rice signed his first professional contract with the club. Rice received his first call-up to the West Ham senior squad for the games against Sunderland and Everton in April 2017, after impressing in the under-23 team. He made his senior debut against Burnley on the last day of the 2016–17 Premier League season, coming on as a 91st-minute substitute for Edimilson Fernandes in a 2–1 away win, five days after captaining the under-23s to promotion with a 2–1 win away to Newcastle United. His first-team debut came on 19 August 2017 in a 3–2 defeat at Southampton. In April 2018, Rice was named as runner-up for the 2017–18 Hammer of the Year award behind Marko Arnautović. On 22 December 2018, he made his 50th appearance for West Ham, becoming the first player to do so while still a teenager since Michael Carrick. On 28 December 2018, Rice signed a new contract until 2024 with the option of an additional year. On 12 January 2019, Rice scored his first goal for West Ham and was named man of the match in a 1–0 win against Arsenal, in West Ham's 50th Premier League game at the London Stadium. On 20 April, Rice was named on the shortlist for the PFA Young Player of the Year award, which was eventually awarded to Rice's England teammate Raheem Sterling. At the end of the 2018–19 season, he was named the Players' Player of the Year and won the award for Individual…

Republic of Ireland

Although born in London, Rice was eligible to play for Ireland as his paternal grandparents are from Cork. On 19 March 2017, Rice was named Republic of Ireland U17 player of the year. On 23 May 2017, only days after his Premier League debut, Rice was named in the Republic of Ireland squad to play friendlies against Mexico and Uruguay and a World Cup qualifier at home to Austria. He made his senior debut on 23 March 2018 in a 1–0 defeat to Turkey. In August 2018, Rice was omitted from the squad to play Wales by manager Martin O'Neill, who said that Rice was considering switching to play for England after being approached by them. By November 2018, having been omitted from three squads selected by O'Neill, Rice said he was no closer in deciding whether to play for Ireland or England. In December 2018, Rice met with new Ireland manager Mick McCarthy and his assistant, Robbie Keane. McCarthy said that Rice was a potential future captain of Ireland and that he would build the team around Rice should he decide to play for the country.

England

On 13 February 2019, Rice pledged his future to England. On 5 March, his change of allegiance was confirmed by FIFA. On 13 March, he was called up by England for their forthcoming UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against the Czech Republic and Montenegro. He made his debut on 22 March as a 63rd-minute substitute against the Czech Republic at Wembley. On 25 March 2019, England manager Gareth Southgate…

Rice plays predominantly as a defensive midfielder and is known for his athleticism and tackling ability. In more recent times, he has begun to build a reputation as a more complete midfielder due to his ball carrying skills and ability to score goals from range, which has seen him be deployed in a more offensive role on occasion as a number eight. He has also been praised in the media for his passing ability.