Declan Rice claims Mikel Arteta was the reason he decided to join Arsenal over Chelsea and Manchester City. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
According to Simon Phillips (via AdamNewson) (h/t Football.London), Chelsea are set to revive their interest in long-term transfer target Declan Rice with negotiations supposedly set to begin with West Ham United if the Blues offer a transfer fee of at least £75 million.
Rice progressed through the youth ranks of West Ham, impressing at every level before making the breakthrough into the first team in 2017. He has since then gone on to establish himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League.
A part of a deadly midfield partnership alongside Thomas Soucek, the duo practically run the Hammers midfield all the time and are extremely influential. The 23-year-old Englishman has played 50 times this season scoring five goals and providing four assists across all competitions.
With a contract expiring in 2024, if West Ham want maximum value out of Declan Rice, they will have to sell him this summer to get a good value for him. A bid of at least £75 million is set to tempt the Hammers to atleast open talks with the interested club.
This Declan Rice- Chelsea saga has been going on for a long time now and it comes as absolutely no surprise considering the history the two parties share.
Once rejected by the Cobham-based club, Rice came through the ranks at Chelsea, who will definitely concede that they made a mistake in letting the talented Englishman leave the club all those years back. Now, they will have to shell enormous amounts of money to bring Rice back.
Thomas Tuchel is known to be a huge fan of the talented midfielder and wants to bring him to Chelsea. Rice, for his part, will add great quality to an existing Blues midfield and could be the face of it for many years to come. At 23, Rice is just getting started in football terms.
Rice’s versatility will be a huge plus for us if we indeed manage to sign him. The 23-year-old predominantly plays in the heart of the midfield in a holding role as a single or double pivot but for much of his formative years and even now, the Englishman can play as a centre-back.
It just feels as if Declan Rice to Chelsea is bound to happen. Sooner or later, this reunion is something that could be written in the stars.
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