Declan Rice reveals unorthodox way he joined Chelsea as a youngster
- Declan Rice spent seven years in Chelsea's academy before release at age 14
- Midfielder went on to join West Ham and has since signed for Arsenal
- Rice did not play for a grassroots team meaning scouts had a hard time trying to see him
By Sean Walsh
Declan Rice has explained how he managed to join Chelsea as a youngster despite not playing for any grassroots team.
Rice spent seven years in the Blues' academy system before being released at the age of 14, at which point he joined West Ham United following a trial.
Former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has claimed in recent interviews that he wanted the club to re-sign Rice during his initial spell in the Stamford Bridge dugout, but such a transfer failed to materialise. Rice ended up signing for Arsenal for a club-record £105m fee this summer.
Speaking to Premier League channels, Rice revealed how he managed to work his way onto Chelsea's radar even though the club were unable to scout him in the traditional sense.
"I've got two older brothers, they went through the system of playing in a grassroots team - I think my dad was a bit more protective of me, he didn't want me to, even though I had the better ability of all three brothers!" Rice said.
"My cousin was already at Chelsea at the time and his dad spoke to one of the scouts. But I wasn't playing for a [grassroots] side so they couldn't watch me. It was hard to have a trial. He said, 'trust me, you've got to get him down to see him train'.
"It wasn't Chelsea straight away, it was like a development thing. He said to me 'your six week trial is up and we want you to sign'. It was crazy."
Rice was then asked if he was true he managed to get school football training moved an hour earlier so he could have time to make his way over to Chelsea training later in the evening.
"Yeah, I remember in year 7 none of the lads believed me that I played for Chelsea!" Rice replied. "We had our first school match and won like 10-0, I think I scored four or five and they were all looking at me like, 'oh my God, he actually does'."
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