Chelsea still want West Ham United captain Declan Rice after £100million- plus Enzo Fernandez
West Ham captain Declan Rice remains in line for a huge summer bid from Chelsea despite their proposed deal for Enzo Fernandez, TEAMtalk reports.
The Blues have long been linked to a move for the Irons star but are closing in on a £100million-plus January agreement for Benfica’s Argentinian World Cup winner.
However, that is reportedly going to put an end to their pursuit of Rice who himself is expected to cost seven figures.
Graeme Bailey said for TEAMtalk: “£100m+ is a lot for a club to pay in one go, so Chelsea hope offering more but over instalments will get the deal done.
“We expect some huge investments in the summer with the likes of Declan Rice in their sights, but January now also looks like it will be a busy period.”
The midfield futures of West Ham and their London rivals remain inextricably linked, with Bailey telling the Fully Loaded Transfer Show on 29 December that the Irons are looking at Ajax’s Edson Alvarez to fill the gap if Rice goes.
Chelsea also unsuccessfully attempted to sign the Mexican international at the end of the summer transfer window, and Bailey called him “one to watch” for a potential arrival at the London Stadium at the end of the season.
Movement
Last summer the Hammers successfully managed to shut down the Rice exit talk by placing a huge fee on his head, and while David Moyes is now talking up the fight to keep hold of him again that will be much harder a year further on.
It might seem logical that sending over £100million on a player at one position might prohibit a club from doing the same again six months later.
But the spending at Chelsea since Todd Boehly took over is starting to make even Roman Abramovich look frugal, so it appears any hopes that West Ham supporters had of the current movement at Stamford Bridge being good news is wide of the mark.
It will sting if and when Rice leaves, wherever he goes, and following the Frank Lampard route to west London might threaten his standing in Irons supporters’ eyes long-term.
But in Alvarez the club could have identified a suitable replacement, and one that shouldn’t cost the same massive fee as Rice and Fernandez.
The 25-year-old already has 63 international caps and went to the World Cup in Qatar, and he could inject some much-needed quality at the base of the midfield where Tomas Soucek has been out of form and Flynn Downes hasn’t been trusted yet.