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 transfer guru Ben Jacobs (h/t Football. London), Arsenal have joined the race for talented English midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham United with Chelsea also interested in the player.
The Blues have a long-term interest in Rice, a player who was expelled from the Chelsea academy at a very young age. Since then, the talented midfielder has gone on to prove that the Blues were wrong in their assessment.
Rice is one of the most talented holding midfielders in the world. He has been among the very best in the Premier League over the past few seasons and his stocks only seem to keep rising meteorically.
At 23, Rice is already West Ham’s most important player and is one of the first names on the team sheet for David Moyes. He is also a regular starter for Gareth Southgate’s England.
Despite being just 23 still, it feels like Rice has been around forever. He has shown to be very consistent at such a young age and many Premier League clubs will undoubtedly be taking a keen look at him.
The Hammers will not want to lose Rice and are likely to try their best to keep him. However, it will not be easy at all, and they can certainly get big cash if they choose to sell the talented midfielder.
Chelsea’s interest in Rice is not new. They could have had him at the academy and he would be a first-team player now for absolutely no cost but they will have to pay a very expensive price for their error in judgement.
Arsenal are said to enter the race for Rice but regardless of which Premier League club wants Rice, the Blues might always hold an advantage due to the fact that he has a history with us.
If Chelsea indeed sign Rice, he would be keen to prove the people who doubted him back then wrong. Let’s see if this association happens in the near future.
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