Gareth Southgate has lavished praise on West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice.

The youngster suffered a great deal of abuse when he chose to play for England instead of the Republic of Ireland.

However, the 20-year-old got on with it and allowed his football to do the talking. His response to the situation impressed his England boss Southgate.

"When I spoke with Declan about the possibility of him transferring association across, I was very conscious that this was something that could happen, and that's why I wanted to tread very carefully to make sure that him and his family had all the time they needed to make a decision," said Southgate to reporters.

"I never pushed because I suspected that this would be part of the consequences of that.

"I think he has dealt with everything incredibly maturely, he just wants to focus on his football and I think he's been a really excellent addition to our squad in terms of his ability, but also his mentality and personality.

"He fits the mould of so many of our team: they're desperate to improve, they're desperate to maximise their talent and he's no different."