Roma coach Jose Mourinho admits he's a big fan of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.

Speaking ahead of England's campaign at the tournament though, Mourinho heaped praise on the 22-year-old and identified what he can bring to his side.

"First of all, I like the boy. I like what he shows me. He is mature, calm, a team player who doesn't think about himself. He always has the correct answers and gives incredible stability to the team," he told The Times.

"It is one thing to play in the qualification phase, where you play against teams where you don't need balance to beat any team 5-0, but when you get to the final phases you play against good teams with good attacking players and then you need balance.

"A team without balance is not a team. Rice is this kind of player. If you have a good back four or back three with a player like Rice in front, England can have more attacking freedom."