Frank Leboeuf urges Chelsea to sign West Ham United star Declan Rice. (imago Images)
Speaking to reporters as quoted by Daily Mail, West Ham United manager David Moyes has slapped a £150 million price tag on their star midfielder Declan Rice who has been on the radar of Chelsea in recent times. The former Everton manager also firmly stated that the English midfielder was not for sale.
The 23-year-old has been drumming up a lot of interest with his performances on the field. The fact that we let go of Rice at a young age only to see him flourish with our fellow West London rivals could be seen as a bittersweet moment right now.
The Scottish manager went on to describe the £100 million tag last summer as cheap, hinting that the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea missed out on a possible bargain. The rise of the Hammers along with his splendid performances in the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup have seen his stocks skyrocket ever since England reached the final of that showpiece event.
Speaking ahead of the match against Everton as quoted by Daily Mail, Moyes made it clear that Declan Rice was not for sale and anyone interested in securing his services would have to fork out an enormous amount of money in order to sign him.
‘The first thing to say is that he is not for sale. If you are interested, well, it will be north of that. One hundred was cheap last summer. One hundred and fifty just now would be minimum but he is not for sale. What I do know is that it means there are only certain clubs that could even consider it.’
The English international’s current deal with the Hammers expires in 2024 and the club also possesses an option to extend that deal by another year. This gives West Ham a great upper hand should there be any negotiations for their prized asset.
Rice has already gone on to captain the West London club at such a young age and is even touted as the possible future captain of England by Paul Ince. This is testimony to his calibre as a leader and what he brings to the team. His ability to read the game and thwart opposition attacks with pivotal interceptions is a trait that has earned him a glowing verdict on several occasions in the past.
Thomas Tuchel has largely managed to create a stable and reliable partnership in the middle of the park for the Blues. N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic are his preferred options whenever fit and the midfield trio have been a key part in his success at Stamford Bridge so far.
That being said, Kante and Jorginho are now in their 30s and the club could look to future-proof their midfield by adding another young, dynamic midfielder in their ranks. The English midfielder fits this bill perfectly but the price tag being attached to him could be a huge stumbling block at the moment.
While adding a suitable midfielder in the ranks could be considered as a great investment in the future, the club may have to shell out the big bucks in other departments should the likes of Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen leave the club on free transfers after the end of the 2021-22 season.
Keeping this in mind, Chelsea should beware of their finances and look to go about their business in a more meaningful manner rather than simply blowing a huge chunk of their money on one player. The Blues should also sit down and weigh their options before making a move as £150 million is not a small fee by any stretch of the imagination.
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