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13th January 2019
03:43pm GMT

"I want him playing in the position he is now at West Ham, for now, and see where he develops." "I thought because he's not playing there at the moment, he wouldn't be in there (the England squad) in front of the ones already in there. "Plus, he's not been in their youth system and come through like he was with ours, and Gareth Southgate was running theirs for a long time. "I think he saw himself initially as a centre-half but then he is enjoying midfield.
McCarthy also spoke about his conversation with Rice and said he expects the player to make a decision soon.
"I said to him, 'I'm looking to build a team around him from March onwards. Are England?' "I'd like a decision at some stage. December's gone, we're into January, it will come around pretty quick. "But there's no worries with him. It's not like we have to change him over from one to the other. I thought it was positive (his meeting with Rice). "He was more concerned at the time with getting his contract sorted out. That was a big issue."
Rice won the man of the match award and scored his first professional goal on Saturday, finding the net with a sweet strike against Arsenal during West Ham's win at the London Stadium.
The goal capped a brilliant spell for the youngster. In the past few months, Rice has become an integral part of the West Ham team, signed a new contract and won praise for his performances.Explore more on these topics: