Daniel Feliciano

Mon 13 March 2023 20:10, UK

Chelsea could look to hijack Arsenal’s move for West Ham captain Declan Rice in the summer with a “stronger financial package”, according to Ben Jacobs (13 March).

The Hammers are resigned to losing their star man this summer as he enters the final two years of his contract, with the England international intent on playing Champions League football and Arsenal and Chelsea the most interested parties.

West Ham are adamant that he will cost at least £100m, which Arsenal don’t want to pay, and Chelsea could look to gazump them in a manner similar to how they signed Mkyhaylo Mudryk in January by offering Shakhtar a greater overall package.

“But right now, David Moyes is citing Enzo Fernandez’s British-record transfer (£107m/€121m),” he wrote.

“Arsenal don’t want to go that high. Chelsea might be prepared to offer West Ham a stronger financial package, in which case there are some loose parallels with the Mykhaylo Mudryk hijack.”

Excellent

Obviously nobody at West Ham wants Declan Rice to leave the club, but this summer seems like the perfect time for everyone to part ways.

With the team currently in a relegation battle the most important thing is to stay in the Premier League, and if we can do that then we will surely look to encourage a bidding war to let him leave.

In an ideal world Rice would go abroad and we wouldn’t have to face him every season and watch him succeed with a rival, but that’s not going to happen. Chelsea and Arsenal seem like the most obvious destinations, but we must ensure we get the best deal possible.

Where he goes doesn’t really matter at this point, but West Ham have to show that we’re not pushovers when it comes to our best players and we must push for a maximum price regardless of what they want to pay.

Chelsea’s transfer dealings under Todd Boehly, where they’ve spent over £600m since last summer, undoubtedly give West Ham encouragement that a major bidding war will take place in the summer, which can only be good for us.