Although he had to go off early in the north London derby, Arsenal’s summer signing, Declan Rice, has been a revelation at the Emirates Stadium so far, and whilst Chelsea, the team where the 24-year-old spent his formative years, might ordinarily have been back in for him when it was clear West Ham would sell, there was a specific reason why the Blues weren’t interested.
Rice had enjoyed a brilliant end to his 2022/23 campaign with the Hammers, becoming the first club captain in 43 years to life silverware.
The Europa Conference League final win over Fiorentina saw the first major title earned by the club since Billy Bonds lifted the FA Cup at Wembley in 1980 against Arsenal.
It was the Gunners to whom Rice ended up signing, and despite the north Londoners having to pay a club record fee for his services, the standard of his performances have already gone some way to justifying the £105m outlay – per Sky Sports.
Chelsea would certainly have had the money to bring back a player who they sold to West Ham, given that shortly after Rice’s arrival at Arsenal, Todd Boehly paid £115m for Moises Caicedo.
However, money isn’t the issue on this occasion.
According to The Telegraph (subscription required), Chelsea decided not to sign Rice because they felt that they were being asked to pay an English premium on the player, thereby, perhaps, having to pay over market value.