Declan Rice switched his allegiance to England from the Republic of Ireland

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini believes Declan Rice is already England's best holding midfielder, and says he reminds him of former Barcelona star Javier Mascherano at a similar age.

Rice, who played in three friendlies for the Republic of Ireland, switched his allegiance to England last week to put an end to a protracted saga over his international future.

Gareth Southgate is keen to include Declan Rice in his next England squad in March, should he be cleared in time by FIFA, and Pellegrini believes the 20-year-old is already good enough to start for England.

"Yes, I think he is ready to play for England," Pellegrini told reporters.

"We are just starting the development of him as a player but in this moment his performances are better than every holding midfielder that they have in the other teams."

"In this moment his performances are better than every holding midfielder that they have in the other teams." Manuel Pellegrini on Declan Rice

When asked if he is one of the Premier League's best holding midfielders, Pellegrini said: "In this moment, yes. At least, I am talking about the English players in the Premier League.

"Maybe there are foreign players in big teams like Fernandinho that are also [very good].

"But we are just starting to see what Declan will be in the future."

Pellegrini worked with Javier Mascherano when he was breaking into the first team at River Plate.

Mascherano, who has won 147 caps for Argentina, went on to become one of the finest defensive midfielders of his generation and Pellegrini sees similar qualities in Rice.

Javier Mascherano (R) began his career in Argentina with River Plate

Pellegrini explained: "I have worked with so many young players. I started with Javier Mascherano when he was 17 years old. He was similar to Declan Rice in his mentality. When they were 17 or 18 years old, it seemed that they had a mentality of a 35-year-old.

"When you are 17, 18, 19 years old, when you arrive in the first team it can change your mindset and make you think you are ready.

"In the case of Declan, he knows that he just starting. That is very important.

"He is 20 years old but has the mind of a mature player. He is always listening when you are talking to him. He is always trying to learn from other players that have more experience.

"You see that he is improving in every training session. Every training session he does here, he does it with 100 per cent intensity and is always trying to improve."

Manuel Lanzini is set to make his return for West Ham

West Ham playmaker Manuel Lanzini is in contention for a long-awaited first appearance of the season against Fulham on Friday, live on Sky Sports.

The Argentine has been sidelined since suffering a serious knee injury while on international duty before the 2018 World Cup.

But he has resumed training with the first team over the past couple of weeks and Pellegrini is pleased with his progress.

"Seeing Manu working in the last two weeks, I am confident he will return in very good shape because he is not afraid," Pellegrini said.

"When you have such a long injury to your knee, you might be a little bit afraid when you start working of being kicked or something.

"He is working as if he has not been operated on so I hope he will return with very good performances."