Transfer News: Chelsea to target Declan Rice but could see a 9-figure transfer fee demanded from West Ham
According to The Telegraph (Subscription Required) [h/t The Sun], Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel wants to add West Ham United midfielder, Declan Rice, to his midfield ranks in the summer transfer window.
The 22-year-old was a top target for Chelsea under Frank Lampard during his time at Stamford Bridge. However, the Blues failed to match the £70m valuation of him before Lampard’s sacking in January.
Since the arrival of Tuchel, transfer interest in the 22-year-old cooled down. However, the report now states that Tuchel wants to add the former Chelsea midfielder to his current Blues side and would ask Marina Granovskaia to make a transfer inquiry.
The Hammers are expected to resist a transfer for Rice and would value him somewhere around £100m after another great season in the heart of their midfield. Rice, of course, is a youth product of Chelsea’s academy.
Rice will cost a pretty penny
The youngster spent 8 years at the club until his move to West Ham in 2014 and would be open to a move to a return to his former club. The report also adds that Chelsea have two backup options in case a deal for Rice doesn’t work out.
As per a report by Metro (h/t The Sun), Monaco’s Aurelien Tchouameni and Benfica’s Julian Weigl are also on the transfer wishlist. The interest in bringing in a new midfielder makes sense.
It would be wise to freshen up the midfield before the new season and add some much-need depth and quality to it. But it should not be the club’s priority right and should not come at the expense of a striker or a defender.
More Chelsea News:
- Chelsea willing to offer Tammy Abraham, Kepa Arrizabalaga in Harry Kane deal
- Transfer News: Chelsea dealt major blow in Romelu Lukaku pursuit
- Chelsea among clubs keen on signing Josh Doig from Hibernian FC
Those are two positions where the Blues need some immediate depth for now and for the future. Rice, in that regard, can play in defence but his talents in defensive midfield were on display throughout the course of this season.
