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30th September 2018
05:02pm BST
Rice represented Ireland at underage level and has three caps for the senior team. As they were friendlies, he is still eligible to switch to play for the country of his birth.
The Londoner is also said to have witnessed Keane's dispute with Harry Arter back in May and was left "chastened" by the experience.
Over the past month, Rice's reputation in England has grown significantly.
The 19-year-old has been pivotal in West Ham's recent run of good form.
With Rice in the side, they beat Everton at Goodison Park, stifled the in-form Chelsea and, on Saturday, beat Manchester United 3-1.
Gareth Southgate has admitted to meeting with Rice about his international future.
The England manager won't want to lose a young player performing so well in the Premier League. There aren't many young footballers playing with such distinction in central midfield in the English top flight, and Rice has rightly won plaudits for his impressive displays.
Needless to say, Ireland need Rice a lot more than the England team.
If Ireland finish bottom of their mini-group with Wales and Cardiff, they will be relegated into the third tier of the Nations League tournament. More importantly, they would also be seeded third in qualification for Euro 2020.Explore more on these topics:
