Chelsea did not fail to sign Declan Rice because of Thomas Tuchel, according to Fabrizio Romano, but because West Ham deemed the midfielder untouchable this summer.
The England international has been a star performer in the Premier League for some time now, and seems ideal to come in and replace N’Golo Kante and Jorginho at the heart of Chelsea’s midfield.
It remains to be seen if this will be possible, however, as Romano has given some insight into just how important he is to his current club West Ham.
Responding to a question from a fan in his exclusive CaughtOffside column today, Romano explained that Tuchel was nothing to do with the club not bringing in Rice this summer.
West Ham’s stance was the main issue, with Romano explaining: “Tuchel never turned down the chance of signing Declan Rice, Rice was simply untouchable for West Ham and so far there is no update.”
There is sure to be further speculation ahead involving Rice and a potential move to a big six club, as he would surely strengthen many other of the big names in the Premier League, as well as the biggest teams around Europe.
Rice has been a hugely important player for West Ham, though, so it remains to be seen who can realistically come up with enough money to get this deal done.