Simon Jordan backs Todd Boehly to pay £120m+ for Chelsea to sign West Ham United star Declan Rice
Simon Jordan has predicted that Chelsea owner Todd Boehly would be willing to buy West Ham United captain Declan Rice for a fee of £120million in the summer.
Journalist Simon Phillips shared via his Substack account [3 February] that Chelsea still wanted to sign Rice in the summer despite splashing an English record fee of £106m on Enzo Fernandez in the January transfer window.
Speaking live on TalkSPORT on Thursday (2 March), Jim White played a recording of Roy Keane heavily criticising the 24-year-old after the 2-1 loss to Manchester United (1 March) in the FA Cup – sharing that it would take £120m plus add-ons to sign him.
“Well, if you’re going to go along the route of Boehly-nomics, then it will be Todd, won’t it,” Jordan replied.
“Todd will come in and buy him for £120million, because he’s not that interested in valuations, he’s interested in what he’s building the football club towards.
“And if they believe that he [Rice] is going to be the missing piece of the jigsaw that is going to be the anchor they can build around, then they will pay that money for him.
“My point is, and to some extent, Roy Keane’s point is – although it is slightly more towards his performance in recent times – that he’s not at that level currently. I don’t think he’s at that level full stop.”
On the cards
It is true that Rice still has a lot of potential growth in his system, but for Keane to criticise him is a little on the harsh side. Although he may look to be lacking goals, he is playing in a West Ham side who have struggled to score all season long.
In terms of meeting the Hammers’ valuation of Rice, Chelsea do seem like the most likely to dig deep and pay the money required to sign him.
After David Moyes came out and said that the Irons would demand a British record transfer fee for the English international, several teams would have been blown out of the running.
However, having seen the riches that the Blues possess, including the £323million spent in the January transfer window, it would come as no surprise to see them go big again.
It is likely to be a fiercely fought transfer battle for Rice’s services, but Jordan could be correct in his assessment of the current situation. Chelsea have the money and remain the most likely to splash the cash on Rice.