Thomas Tuchel with West Ham United's Declan Rice. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
According to Florian Plettenberg, Declan Rice had been persuaded to join Bayern Munich by former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel during an on-call conversation.
The 24-year-old midfielder has been highly sought after by both Chelsea and Arsenal, which both want to sign him. However, the Gunners are ready to meet his asking price, and the Blues are still interested.
West Ham United managed to avoid relegation in the meantime, which may allow them to earn a sufficient profit from Rice’s departure.
And now Bayern have joined the race TO sign THE 24-year-old, are also eager to pay the England international’s asking price. And the German powerhouses believe they can beat Chelsea and Arsenal for his acquisition.
They are also pushing for his signing which saw ex-Chelsea manager Tuchel has spoken to Rice on the phone to convince him to join the six-time Champions League winners.
Sky Sports Germany journalist Plettenberg confirmed the news as he wrote on Twitter, (h/t Football.London):
“There was a phone call with Tuchel a few days ago! I’ve been told it was a good talk. Both appreciate each other. Rice is open to joining Bayern and Tuchel. FCB wants to intensify its efforts now. He’s still a transfer target. But time is running out, as he could sign for Arsenal.”
With all three clubs interested in signing him, his transfer has now become a saga. Given that they will participate in the Champions League, it could very well persuade him to shun Chelsea and join either Bayern or Arsenal.
Nonetheless, if he joins us, he can be part of an exciting project with Mauricio Pochettino, who is prepared to start his reign on July 1. And that is why we can’t rule ourselves out of the race just yet. There are players who want to be part of a team that is slowly building towards something great rather than joining teams for readymade success.
Chelsea are also pushing for Manuel Ugarte’s signing, who is much younger (He is 22 while Rice is 24) and sort of possesses Rice’s qualities. He is an able defensive midfielder too and to be honest, either of the two will suffice. The advantage with Rice is that he is a homegrown player and a tried-and-tested Premier League product.
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