Chelsea Planning to Resume Pursuit of West Ham's Declan Rice in January
By Tom Gott
Chelsea are ready to reignite their interest in West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice in January and are keeping a close eye on his contract negotiations with the Hammers.
Rice was one of Chelsea's top targets during the summer transfer window, but after the Blues spent over £200m bolstering other areas of the squad, they could not find the extra funds to lodge a bid for the 21-year-old, who was valued at close to £80m.
As noted by The Athletic's Simon Johnson, Chelsea did have deals in place to sell two first-team players permanently in the hope of reinvesting that money in Rice, but both deals fell through late in the summer window and forced the Blues to put their pursuit on hold.
Frank Lampard is ready to try to find the money to sign Rice in the January transfer window, but it could all come down to whether the England international accepts West Ham's invitation to renew his contract.
Rice has impressed for the Hammers this season, playing every Premier League minute so far to help David Moyes' side navigate what was undoubtedly a difficult fixture schedule in the early weeks of the season to sit 14th, and West Ham are keen to reward him with a pay rise.
Chelsea know that signing Rice in January will not be easy, but there is a belief at Stamford Bridge that they can convince the young midfielder to make the move across London, although their ability to offer an acceptable transfer fee could come down to whether Chelsea can offload some fringe players first.
In terms of potential sales, the likes of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Antonio Rüdiger, Marcos Alonso and Emerson will all likely find themselves in the gossip column, while Chelsea will be doing everything they can to get Danny Drinkwater off the books for good as well.
Selling a handful of those players would make meeting West Ham's asking price easier, and Lampard is prepared to spend big on Rice as he sees the 21-year-old as a core part of his starting lineup if a deal can be agreed.
Lampard wants Rice at the base of his midfield as N'Golo Kanté, who impressed there against Burnley, is not seen as a long-term option in the position.
Instead, the boss wants to move Kanté alongside Rice at the base of a 4-2-3-1, or perhaps move him further forward in a 4-3-3 to get the best out of his seek-and-destroy style of play.