West Ham United deny Chelsea making an offer for Declan Rice
According to Sky Sports, West Ham United have denied reports that Chelsea have made a £50m bid for Declan Rice.
Chelsea are keen to sign Rice with Frank Lampard a fan of the player. The Blues boss views the young Hammer as the solution to his side’s defensive problems.
Primarily used as a defensive midfielder, Rice can slot in seamlessly at the back. A player with good organizational and leadership skills, he can be the lodestone around whom the Chelsea backline can be built.
West Ham, however, are having none of it and are determined to keep hold of their star player.
The 21-year-old played in Chelsea’s academy for seven years before being released at the age of 14. It proved to be a decision lacking in hindsight as Rice went on to make a name for himself with the Hammers.
According to the report, he has a long-term contract at West Ham which runs until 2024. The Hammer also have the option of extending it by another year. This puts them in a strong position when it comes to negotiations.
His performances saw him win West Ham Players’ Player of the Year award while also being declared as Young Hammer of the Year for the third consecutive season in 2018-19. (h/t Mirror)
Chelsea’s hopes of signing the player could be boosted by West Ham’s financial situation. The Hammers made a pre-tax loss of £28.2million in their most recent finances.
With David Moyes looking to bring in new faces, he might have to sell Rice to ensure funds are available to do so.
Rice is one of the best young players in the league and ticks a number of boxes in our search for the ideal defender. Whether a deal can be worked out or not remains to be seen.
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It was earlier reported by The Sun that West Ham value Rice at around £70million. It remains to be seen if their head can be turned if Chelsea make a bid close to that amount.
But for now, he remains a Hammer and will report for pre-season training with his teammates on Monday.