West Ham United sensation Declan Rice announced his international future would be at Wembley Stadium rather than the Aviva, and The Sun are reporting that the call had a lot to do with John Terry.
Rice’s relationship with the Chelsea legend has been well documented, and blossomed while the defensive midfielder was a youth talent developing in West London as the 78-cap ex-England international would watch them train at Cobham.
A few months ago, the now England international hopeful revealed that Terry spent 45 minutes on the phone with him following his release from Chelsea, and it appears the relationship played a part in Rice opting for the Three Lions.
The Sun have reported that the 20-year-old turned to the former England captain to help with his final decision as he was left with strong concerns about walking away from the country he represented three times at a senior level in friendlies.
Terry is said to have made it clear to Rice that opting for England over the Republic of Ireland would be the better move for both his short and long-term ambitions, and he could now debut for Gareth Southgate against the Czech Republic in a Euro 2020 qualifying match should his international registration go through in time.
