Declan Rice is new Javier Mascherano and should go straight into England team, says West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini

West Ham rookie Rice controversially pledged his international future to England last week despite having previously played for the Republic of Ireland.

The 20-year-old, born in London but with Irish grandparents, only represented the Republic’s senior side in three friendlies, allowing him to switch allegiance.

Rice will make his 60th Hammers appearance tonight, yet Pellegrini already rates him above World Cup semi-finalists Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson.

The Hammers boss said: “He is ready to play for England. We are just starting the development of him as a player.

"But at this moment his performances are better than every holding midfielder.

“At least I am talking about the English players. Maybe there are other foreign players in big teams also playing well, like Fernandinho.

"But I repeat we are just starting to see what will be with Declan in the future.

“He is improving in a lot of different things in that position. Maybe he must improve more and have a better view of the pitch but he has such good technique that he never misses a pass.

“He is always keeping his position in the correct moment so as a young player he will always be learning more things, but at this moment he is a complete player.”

Pellegrini managed a young Javier Mascherano at Argentinian side River Plate and says Rice reminds him of the former Barcelona star.

He added: “Mascherano at 17 was similar to Declan in his mentality — they seem to have the mentality of a 35-year-old.

“But Declan knows he is just starting and that is important.

"He is always listening when you talk to him and always trying to learn from others with more experience.”

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