Report: What Gareth Southgate now thinks about Declan Rice's attitude behind the scenes with England

Having now earned 51 caps for England, Declan Rice is considered a definite starter for Gareth Southgate’s England side on Sunday.

England begin their tournament against Serbia, with both Bukayo Saka and Rice expected to be stalwarts of Southgate’s eleven throughout the tournament.

Given the abundance of options the England manager has in attack, some fans and pundits have called for Cole Palmer to start on the right, but that is doing Saka a disservice.

One of England’s most important players, Saka wouldn’t sit on the bench in almost any side in world football.

That being said, neither would Rice.

And ahead of England kicking off their tournament, Mail Sport have now shared an insight into the mood and relationships inside the camp.

Moreover, as part of that look behind the scenes, the report mentioned how Southgate now sees Rice in this England team, and how impressed he’s been with the Arsenal midfielder’s attitude.

Gareth Southgate thinks senior England players have been impressed by Declan Rice

Sources inside the camp say that Southgate has been immensely impressed by Rice’s demeanour of late, with the midfielder now taking on increased responsibility.

Southgate has noticed players gravitating towards Rice, who is an incredibly approachable character because of his chirpy and outgoing personality.

England staff feel as if Rice’s teammates can relate to his ‘style and swagger’, with senior players also recognising his growing presence.

Of course, it appears that Southgate has resisted the urge to continue Mikel Arteta’s experiment of using Rice as a number eight for England.

With either Jorginho or Thomas Partey playing behind him at Arsenal, Rice has flourished with an attacking licence. 

The 25-year-old remains one of the world’s best number sixes, hence Southgate’s decision to keep him in the position, but perhaps England can experiment as the tournament goes on.

Adam Wharton is the perfect partner for Declan Rice

With Southgate deploying Rice in the pivot, it seems most likely that either Conor Gallagher or Trent Alexander-Arnold will play alongside the Arsenal man.

Gallagher is natural number eight, whereas Trent is still a bit of an unknown quantity in the middle.

Of course, there’s also Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton available – two incredibly exciting talents.

And although it would be a gamble given his inexperience at this level, Wharton could be Rice’s perfect dancing partner.

Wharton plays with so much maturity and confidence in the middle, possessing a similar style to Michael Carrick in his prime.

And perhaps Arsenal should also be considering a move to bring Wharton to the club to partner Rice.