Fabrizio Romano discusses Declan Rice’s West Ham United future after Chelsea manager change
Chelsea haven’t dropped their interest in signing West Ham star Declan Rice since Thomas Tuchel got sacked, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Hammers captain has been linked with a mega-money exit away from the club for the last two summers, with West Ham reportedly valuing him at well over £100m.
That led to speculation that former Chelsea boss Tuchel had dropped his interest in the 23-year-old but Romano told his Caught Offside substack [11 September] that the interest never wavered.
“Tuchel never turned down the chance of signing Declan Rice, Rice was simply untouchable for West Ham and so far there is no update,” he said.
Rice has got two years remaining on his contract at the London Stadium, and there is an option to add another year to take him to 2025, meaning there is no rush to sell.
Inevitable
It’s been a long time coming that Rice will leave West Ham, and the chances of him sticking around beyond next summer are probably slim.
But with the asking price as high as it is, there are only a select few clubs that could possibly take him away, and Chelsea certainly fall into that bracket.
With their new owner they haven’t been afraid to splash the cash and with Graham Potter now at the helm, the energy of Rice is something that will surely appeal to him in the midfield. Especially with N’Golo Kante’s contract nearing expiry.
For West Ham nothing changes right now. They know the interest in Rice exists and the price they’ve set is inclusive of the information about his contract and they have no need to sell for anything less as it stands.
It’s going to be a long old season with transfer rumours and everything being scrutinised, but West Ham must get the maximum out of Rice that they can before the season comes to an end and then consideration of a possible exit can begin.