Declan Rice has been linked with a move to Chelsea on a weekly basis since the summer, so there’s no real surprise that the rumours are gaining intensity as the January window approaches.
It’s generally accepted that Chelsea want to sign him and he wants to return to the team that he played for as a kid, but he’s a top quality player so West Ham aren’t going to let him go unless they receive a giant fee.
HITC have reported on some comments from popular journalist Fabrizio Romano, and he tends to be spot on when it comes to football transfer news:
“At the moment, what we know is that the player still wants to join Chelsea, he loves the style of Lampard, he loves Chelsea and also his Dad is a Chelsea fan.
“There’s still no agreement between the two clubs, West Ham and Chelsea. Last summer, in September, when Chelsea contacted West Ham, they asked for 80 million Euros, to sell Declan Rice, that’s why Chelsea said no at this moment we can’t pay this money, let’s see in January.
“At the moment, West Ham aren’t going to change their idea about the price of Declan Rice, so it won’t be so easy, but the new mentality of Chelsea with the transfers is that we just want our top targets, we’re not going for plan B or C, we have this new mentality it’s top targets or nothing.
“So, I’m convinced they will try again for Declan Rice in January.”
Chelsea do have the need for a top quality holding midfielder who can shield the defence while also having the ability to control the play and start attacks, so there’s every reason to believe that Rice could be that player.
€80m would be a giant fee for the Hammers but they would need to have a suitable replacement lined up, while it’s probably a good idea to get that sorted first before selling Rice and announcing to the world that they have a lot of money to spend.
It’s likely that this will come down to the player because the Hammers have little reason to let him go if he’s happy and settled, but it certainly looks like Chelsea will have another go at signing him next month.