Declan Rice has had a very promising few months since turning 18 back in January.
The West Ham defender was named Ireland's U17 player of the year, then scooped the 'Young Hammer of the Year' award for his performances as captain of the club's U23s, before Slaven Bilic handed him his Premier League debut on the final day of the season.
This inspired Martin O'Neill to invite him to train with the Ireland senior squad ahead of the June friendlies, and Slaven Bilic also wanted to get a good luck at Rice as he brought him along on West Ham's preseason training camp in Germany and Austria.
But he probably wouldn't have expected him to play as well as he has.
After The Hammers' assistant boss Nikola Jurcevic labelled him the 'surprise positive' of preseason, Rice had a chat with Football.London were he revealed that training with the established first team players at the club gave him the confidence to go out and show what he can do despite playing slightly out of position in central midfield.
I think I have done very well, yes.
I have been very happy with myself in training and I think I have made an impression in games.
Having players around like Mark Noble, James Collins, they just keep egging me on to do better and better and keep getting better, giving me confidence to perform.
It's very encouraging to get that sort of feedback from some of the most influential players at the club, but the fans too have been very impressed with Rice so far this summer and many of them singled him out for praise after his recent performances, particularly their 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen on Friday.
We've got a real player on our hands in Declan Rice, imagine him and oxford CBS in 2 years time , proper academy @WestHamUtd #coyi #academy
— Martyn Hobbs (@MartynHobbs12) July 28, 2017
Declan Rice the best player on the pitch for #WHUFC this half. The rest have struggled.
— Sam Inkersole (@Sam_InkersoleTM) July 28, 2017
Declan Rice already playing brilliantly
— West Ham News (@WHUFC_News) July 29, 2017
I thought @_DeclanRice did brilliant today. Showed he can pass the ball well in midfield and then defended well. Holland lively.Adrian good?
— ExWHUemployee (@ExWHUemployee) July 28, 2017
It's clear he's made a big impression on the supporters, and he's now at a point where he is being recognised by fans when he's out and about, something Rice admits is 'a bit mad' having been a relatively unknown player as recently as last year.
About a year ago, no-one knew who I was and now, I'm signing autographs for fans here in Germany, it's a bit mad.
It's weird people knowing who I am.
My next target is to start in the Premier League, that's what I am aiming for. I'll play wherever the manager puts me, centre back or centre midfield, I don't care.
By the sounds of things he's going to have to get used to the autograph requests, as it seems that he's become somebody that West Ham players, staff, and fans have high expectations for.
At 18 he's still got his whole career ahead of him, but hopefully he'll get a few more chances in the first team next season and kick on to become an important player both for the London club and indeed for Ireland.
