Roman Abramovich to sell Chelsea, knock on effect for West Ham and Declan Rice
Roman Abramovich’s announcement that he intends to sell Chelsea could have major repercussions for West Ham and Declan Rice.
The star Hammers man has been increasingly linked with an exit from the London Stadium in the summer, and the Stamford Bridge club were considered the favourites to secure his signature, but their billionaire owner is facing potential sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and released a statement last night (Wednesday 2 March) saying he is looking to sell.
The midfielder grew up in a Chelsea supporting family, was at the European Champions’ academy alongside close friend Mason Mount until the age of 14, and his comments on Gary Neville’s The Overlap strongly hinted at a continuing pull for the Irons captain.
Manchester United and Manchester City are both believed to be interested, and manager David Moyes has moved to drive up the asking price for the 23-year-old to well over £100million.
Ahead of the recent FA Cup tie with Kidderminster the Scot told reporters, via 90min: “I said in the summer that I thought Declan Rice was £100m. That was the sales, that was cheap, that was your chance to get Declan Rice cheap.”
Seismic change
There are many questions to be answered as to what will happen from this point on over in West London, but it is sure to have an effect across the capital.
How long it will take for the oligarch to sell the club, or whether he will even be able to remains to be seen, but should he still be in control come the end of the season it seems unlikely he could or would fund the Rice transfer.
If a sale does go through, the chances of a £100million-plus move for the England international would surely be far less likely than it was until just days ago, whoever the buyer is.
The best case scenario for Hammers fans is that a potential return to his boyhood club is now off the table for the foreseeable future, leading him to reaffirm his commitment to his adopted home and stay.
Additionally, The Express have reported that Manchester United are considering cheaper options, and Manchester City are just a year removed from spending £100million on his international teammate Jack Grealish.
Pep Guardiola is also likely to revisit his failed attempt to add Harry Kane for huge money, so the market for Rice could collapse.
The worst case scenario would be that, considering the player is believed to want to move to satisfy trophy ambitions, the club is forced to accept a lower price.
With one major bidder likely out of the running, turning down sizeable offers from another that don’t reach Moyes’ target could leave the stand-in skipper unsettled.
Despite his match-winning turn in victory over City, England captain Kane has been short of his best this season following the summer saga, and a repeat of that with Rice would benefit nobody.
The changing Premier League landscape following the news at Chelsea will affect the Hammers, either positively or negatively, but has opened an unexpected route to the star man staying.
In other West Ham news, Ally McCoist and Gabby Agbonlahor had some strong views on the state of David Moyes’ team.
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