Frank Leboeuf urges Chelsea to sign West Ham United star Declan Rice. (imago Images)
According to the Daily Mail, West Ham are demanding an exorbitant £150 million to part ways with Chelsea target Declan Rice after the midfielder supposedly refused to renew his contract with the hammers.
The Hammers have come to terms with the fact that the English midfielder will not be staying for long and will want to cash in on him while they can in the summer. However David Moyes and West Ham are adamant that they will not sell the talented midfielder for anything below £150 million.
West Ham are demanding for Rice £50 million more than what Manchester City paid to bring Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for a record British transfer fee. The English midfielder is very solid in the holding role, capable of playing in both a single or double pivot.
Along with Thomas Soucek, the duo have established a solid partnership at the base of Moyes’ midfield for the past couple of seasons. While West Ham are very keen to keep him, his contract is expiring in a couple of years and the Hammers might want to move the Englishman on and make maximum profit.
There is no doubting Rice’s potential and he is rightfully regarded as one of the best midfield talents in English football today. However, the enormous fee that the Hammers are asking for him may throw off potential suitors.
Just 23-years old, there is no surprise that Declan Rice is a subject of so much attraction from clubs around the world and Chelsea are no different, especially when taking into account that the English midfielder is a former Blues youth player.
However, the Blues find themselves in a bit of a pickle with their ownership issues and off-field uncertainties and it’s still not clear if Chelsea will be able to make signing in the summer.
Also at the price at which West Ham are asking, it does not make sense to invest so much money on one player. The Chelsea management will have to think wisely before entering such a deal.
With a new ownership on the horizon, it’s still not clear what ideologies the new people who manage the club will come in with. If the new owners want to make a statement signing, then Rice could end up being that player. Even then, the price at which he comes is a too high.
It remains to be seen what happens with Declan Rice but what is evident is that a player of his talent is not sticking at West Ham for too long.
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