Ex-Chelsea boss Frank Lampard was adamant that the club sign Declan Rice
According to The Athletic (h/t Metro), former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was extremely keen to land West Ham United star Declan Rice.
A former Blues youth product, the youngster went on to make a name for himself at the Hammers. He has since made his England debut and is amongst the best young midfielders in the league.
Lampard’s views were, however, not shared by the Chelsea board. So much so that they got tired of Lampard lobbying for the player’s signing.
Securing Rice would have cost Chelsea around £80m. While Lampard felt it represented good value, the Blues board disagreed. They were not keen to splash out a club-record fee for a player they deemed not good enough just five years ago.
Despite that, Lampard continued to push for Rice’s signing. Recruitment at Chelsea is a collective affair where Lampard had to work alongside a transfer committee.
Lampard raised the topic of securing Rice ahead of the January window, once again to the annoyance of the board. Given how results on the pitch were going then, it is likely that his request did not go down well.
With Lampard now gone, it remains to be seen if Chelsea will revisit any sort of deal for the Hammers star.
While there is no argument regarding Rice’s ability, Chelsea does not appear to be in the race for him. At least as things stand.
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Rice, for his part, is open to a return. He is, however, unwilling to force through a move due to his respect for the Hammers.
