We have been made to understand that West London outfit Chelsea are confident of landing Declan Rice from West Ham United in the January transfer window as they are keen on his service.
The man behind this interest is manager Frank Lampard who is a big fan of the 21-year-old and despite having other midfielders; he feels his team is incomplete without the presence of the English midfielder.
Athletic reports that the Blues team are monitoring the situation with Declan Rice at West Ham United and are planning to take another approach in the next few weeks.
West Ham are making efforts to convince Declan Rice with a new and improved contract but according to The Athletic’s Simon Johnson, Chelsea are hoping he turns down the new offer for him to be able to leave.
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The Athletic also reported that the West London outfit were unable to make an official bid for Rice because they failed to sell some of their players in the summer after spending about £200 million on Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Edouard Mendy and Thiago Silva.
Frank Lampard’s plan for Declan Rice is to either make him is first-choice defensive midfielder or convert him to a centre-back where he first started his career before switching to being a midfielder.
Declan Rice is contracted to West Ham United until the summer of 2024. For Chelsea to be able to pull a deal, they will have to break the bank because the 21-year-old has lifted his game and will cost more.
However, pundits will argue that Frank Lampard does not need a Declan Rice in his team with presence of N’Golo Kante at the middle as the former Leicester City player has been in a great form from the start of the season which has been rewarded with some starts and more playing time.
