London-born Rice, 19, has played three times for the Republic of Ireland but all were in friendly matches and he is considering switching to England.

Hughton, who won 53 caps for the Republic, was born in England to a Ghanaian father and Irish mother.

"I would always sympathise with the situation," said Hughton, 59.

"There isn't anybody really that can make that decision for him."

In August, Martin O'Neill said England had approached Rice after the Republic boss left him out of the squad to face Wales.

Rice, who is eligible to play for the Republic because he has Irish grandparents, is also absent from the latest squad for their Uefa Nations League matches against Denmark and Wales this month.

"What can happen is that close people around you, your family, the club, can try and guide him but everybody has different situations," said Hughton.

"It's only him who can make those decisions and I'm sure that whatever he does will be the right decision for him."

Brighton host West Ham at the Amex Stadium in the Premier League at 20:00 BST on Friday.

Former Tottenham and West Ham full-back Hughton became the first mixed-race player to represent the Republic when he made his debut in 1979 after two years in the Spurs side.

"My situation was I broke into the Spurs team, and was doing well, there were some rumours and murmurs about some England interest, but nothing official," he said.

"I had an official approach from the Republic and at that stage I didn't think twice about it.

"I hadn't played any international football at age group level before, I hadn't had that type of recognition at a young age so at the time it wasn't a difficult decision for me and I was delighted to make that decision.

"What I could have done was chosen not to, and then not had any approach from anybody else."