Declan Rice is a name continually linked with the Blues in recent months. The 21-year-old was released at the age of fourteen, before joining West Ham and becoming the player he is now.
Rice has friendships with a number of players of Stamford Bridge that he grew up with before the move. That seems to be the main reason we are continually linked. Manchester United are also understood to be interested, but it’s fair to say, like Chelsea, they are often linked with players, particularly those that are young and English, such as Jadon Sancho.
Matt Law at the Telegraph has suggested West Ham could be forced to sell due to financial uncertainty. I’m sure the Hammers would have Rice near the bottom of the list of potential sales, but with the midfielder commanding a fee of around £70m it makes sense.
I’ve continually advocated Frank Lampard’s desire to build a young squad to take the club forward. The emergence of Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham, and Reece James have been a breath of fresh air at Stamford Bridge.
Billy Gilmour being introduced before the league was postponed, is another reason to be excited by a bright future. However, I can’t see Rice would fit the system. N’Golo Kante has missed out largely through injury this season, but even when fit the Frenchman hasn’t played in his most effective role as a defensive midfielder.
Although Super Frank could tinker around with his preferred system, I can’t see how Rice would nail down a regular starting spot. The Blues boss has made subtle changes at times, but even then rarely utilised that role.
Whether there’s a substantial amount of money available or not, there are more pressing areas money should be spent on.
Blue is the colour
