Declan Rice fights corner of lifelong friend and England team-mate Mason Mount

Declan Rice has come out in defence of his lifelong friend Mason Mount, after the Chelsea man has come under fire for his performances.

Rice, who came through the Chelsea academy with Mount and now plays alongside him for England, insisted he would be a regular in any Premier League team.

'We don't speak about it but it is very harsh,' Rice said of Mount's criticism.

'I know what his mentality is like. I know how driven he is. It is no surprise that Gareth picks him, Frank (Lampard) picks him and if you gave every Premier League manager the chance, they would pick him as well.'

Mount and Aston Villa star Jack Grealish both started England's 3-0 win over Ireland earlier this week and Rice sees no reason why the duo cannot carry on playing together.

He added: 'If you look at Jack and Mase, there will always be comparisons but they are playing in two different parts of the pitch.

'Mason now at Chelsea is playing as an attacking eight and Jack is playing off the left (at Aston Villa) and we saw the other night they can both play in the same team and they are both great players we should be valuing.'

The West Ham midfielder also hailed the leadership qualities of skipper Harry Kane and revealed his own desire to be a captain in his own right one day.

'With H, you feel his presence all the time. If you look at the other night, he was involved but beforehand he is in the changing room, getting everyone ready and talking to the lads individually,' Rice said.

'For a youngster like me, who is aspiring to be a future captain, you have to look at what he does.

'He might not be the loudest on the pitch, but the way he takes the ball under pressure and gets defences scared, he is a real leader.'