West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice has been linked with a move to Chelsea for a while now.
Apparently, the Blues wanted to sign him last summer but they backed out of the transfer because of their failure to offload fringe players.
According to Athletic, the January transfer window will allow Chelsea to reignite their interest in the defensive midfielder and it remains to be seen whether they can convince West Ham United to part with their prized asset next month.
The 21-year-old midfielder is the captain of West Ham United and the Hammers will want to hold on to him at least until the end of the season.
The report from Athletic claims that Chelsea are hopeful of signing the midfielder in summer.
The midfielder has recently been linked with Manchester United as well. Apparently, he is highly rated by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the Manchester United manager sees him as a part of his squad overhaul in the summer.
Declan Rice was released by Chelsea when he was 14 years old and he will have a point to prove at Stamford Bridge. Furthermore, the midfielder himself admitted in the past that he would like to play alongside Mason Mount at club level and therefore it would be fair to assume that he is keen on a return as well.
It will be interesting to see how the situation unfolds in the coming weeks.
West Ham United will not want to lose a key player midway through the season and Chelsea will probably have to wait until the summer to get their man.
Declan Rice should prove to be a quality addition to the Chelsea midfield if the Blues manage to pull off the transfer.
Apparently, Frank Lampard wants a specialist defensive midfielder because he believes that N’Golo Kante is better as a box to box midfielder. The Frenchman has a tendency to leave his position behind and move further up the pitch to disrupt the opposition midfield with his pressing and that leaves space in behind for the opposition to exploit.
Declan Rice has the quality to play as a centre back as well and his versatility will be an added bonus for Chelsea.
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