How Declan Rice transfer saga contributed to Frank Lampard sack at Chelsea

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Frank Lampard reportedly angered the Chelsea board with his strong transfer pursuit of West Ham star Declan Rice.

According to The Athletic, Lampard is set to be replaced by Thomas Tuchel, and a number of things have clearly gone wrong for him behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge.

MORE: Thomas Tuchel to replace Frank Lampard as Chelsea manager

The report explains that Rice has been a top target for Lampard, and one source is quoted in the piece as saying the manager had pushed too hard to sign him and risked his job by doing so.

“He needs to stop pushing for Rice or he’ll lose his job. The hierarchy are very wary about the potential embarrassment of buying back an academy reject at huge expense,” the source told The Athletic in December.

The England international is clearly a top talent, but it seems some inside Chelsea were not keen on spending big to re-sign a player who left their academy as a youngster, according to The Athletic.

This will no doubt frustrate Chelsea fans, as Rice could have been a fine signing to help this Blues side after their poor start to this season.

Declan Rice in action for West Ham

The 22-year-old could well have been an upgrade on the likes of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic in defensive midfield, as well as an option in central defence.

That said, Lampard had already received plenty of backing in the transfer market and failed to get the best out of big-name signings like Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.

It’s hard to know how much of a difference Rice might’ve made, but Lampard can perhaps afford to feel aggrieved by this.

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