Declan Rice could become Chelsea’s priority this summer if the Blues are struggling to sign a new centre-forward, Telegraph reporter Matt Law has suggested on the ‘London Is Blue Podcast‘.
While disputes between manager and board are not infrequent in football, it’s hard to imagine there being any problem agreeing Chelsea’s summer transfer priorities.
Chelsea need a striker – and a good one, too. Thomas Tuchel, Marina Granovskaia and Roman Abramovich will all surely recognise that signing one is the minimum requirement for the summer transfer window.
However, Chelsea’s options are dwindling. As reported by the Guardian, Romelu Lukaku has publicly stated his desire to remain at Inter Milan, while Harry Kane and Erling Haaland look unobtainable.
READ MORE: Journalist gives Chelsea fans renewed hope of landing world-class striker
At this point in time, signing a top striker is looking difficult, and while Chelsea will not throw in the towel before the transfer window has even begun, the Telegraph‘s Matt Law suggests that they could shelve their striker search.
Speaking on the ‘London Is Blue Podcast’, Matt Law has speculated at how Chelsea could pause their hunt for a centre-forward and focus on other targets – West Ham’s Declan Rice being an example.
“If you’re struggling to get your number one striker, I wonder if a different position becomes a priority and they come back to striker later in the window.”
“Does Declan Rice then become a priority? Possibly.”
Chelsea’s midfield was phenomenal throughout their Champions League winning campaign, but Tuchel does not have an archetypal defensive midfielder within his ranks. Rice would solve that.
The CIES Football Observatory valued Rice at £61.7M in a report published earlier in the year. It’s a hefty fee for Chelsea to pay, but not an unreasonable one for a player of his quality.
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Declan Rice is a good choice but i also think Ben White is an excellent alternative, young, English, Premier league experience, able to play midfield and along the back line just like Rice but a lot cheaper. Someone is going to buy him before this window closes.