West Ham United: Declan Rice unlikely to seal Chelsea transfer
A prospective move to Chelsea for West Ham star Declan Rice will likely be prevented due to the absence of Champions League football at Stamford Bridge, according to a report from Football London.
The Hammers skipper is expected to move on from the club over the summer, with Chelsea said to have joined Arsenal and Bayern Munich in having serious interest in the midfielder.
After a terrible season for the West London club, they could only manage a 12th-place finish in the table, a massive 27 points behind the Champions League spots.
The report details an affinity toward Manchester United for both Rice and Mason Mount, with the latter strongly linked to Old Trafford.
“As for Rice, Arsenal holds a strong interest in the player despite having signed Jorginho,” it said.
“It’s also understood that the Hammers captain remains a key target for Chelsea but, without Champions League football, a move to west London looks unlikely.”
Highest stage
The England international is likely to be moving on from West Ham and his departure will leave a huge void to be filled.
It is not because he is unhappy at the club, but his talent dictates his aspirations to test himself with the best and to regularly compete for trophies as well as on the highest stage in the Champions League.
For the foreseeable future, that is an unlikely prospect for Chelsea and certainly not next season. There is too much uncertainty with that potential switch, as Mauricio Pochettino prepares to take the reigns.
Rice already has better options than that, in what will be a significant development for the Hammers and the next season or two.
The substantial transfer fee that will be required to land Rice will allow for new players to come in to go toward replacing his impact. No single player will do that but if the money is spent wisely, it will soften the blow of his loss.
If not, the impact will be felt for some time to come.