West Ham midfielder Declan Rice is happy for good friend Mason Mount after the Chelsea whiz made his England debut yesterday.

They were reunited on the pitch in England's 4-0 win over Bulgaria on Saturday. Rice and Mount bonded at Chelsea's academy but the former left for West Ham in 2014 and represented the Republic of Ireland, before switching his international allegiance to England earlier this year.

“From the moment he was lined up to come on, I had a smile on my face," Rice told the London Evening Standard. “When he ran out to the reception he got, it was really special. I felt like a proud best friend.

“I thought this would be the last way of us playing together again. You'd think we'd maybe rekindle at a club somewhere but for it to come with England is really special. It's the best way to do it.

“We never spoke about the possibility until this summer. The season he had [on loan] at Derby was outstanding, he did really well with the Under-21s and the call-up from Gareth [Southgate] was waiting for him.

“When we were on holiday together this summer we said, 'What if it happens?' with a smile on our faces. When the squad came out, we phoned each other, we were really happy.

“Since we were young, we've always been egging each other on to get better. We've always had a winning mentality. We went our separate ways but always stayed in contact, dropped each other a message now and then.

“It just shows the type of character he is that he came on and did excellently. He fully deserves it."