Chelsea will launch a late bid to sign Declan Rice and are ready to test West Ham’s resolve with an offer worth at least £40m, according to The Sun.
Frank Lampard has already been extremely busy in the transfer market this summer as he’s splashed out big money on Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Kai Havertz, Edouard Mendy, Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr.
However, the Blues boss isn’t done there as he wants to add one more signing to his squad before the window shuts next week and The Sun says West Ham star Declan Rice is seen as the final piece in the jigsaw.
The 21-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge this summer and Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed last week that Rice wants to join Chelsea after the club held talks with his agent.
West Ham have publicly insisted they don’t want to sell the defensive midfielder but co-owner David Sullivan admitted last week they are struggling to secure new signings due to a lack of funds.
That admission has given Chelsea confidence that a deal is there to be done for Rice this summer and The Sun claims they will test West Ham’s resolve with a formal offer worth at least £40m over the coming days.
The Blues may need to dig a little deeper if they want to get a deal agreed as the Mirror suggests that West Ham value Rice at closer to £80m but it appears Chelsea will do all they can to land the youngster before the window closes on October 5th.
Rice was once part of the Chelsea youth system before he joined West Ham and he’s developed into one of the most talented young Englishman in the Premier League since breaking into the Hammers first team set-up.
He’s already an establish England international at senior level and is capable of playing in midfield or in defence so he’d be a very useful addition to Lampard’s squad if Chelsea could get a deal done with West Ham.
We’ll have to wait and see how things progress but if Chelsea do end up signing Rice then his arrival could pave the way for Jorginho to leave with the Italian being linked with a number of clubs in recent days.
