"He’s capable and would be there for the rest of his career" - Chelsea told to 'bite the bullet' and stump up cash to sign N'Golo Kante's replacement
Former Liverpool midfielder turned pundit Danny Murphy has urged Chelsea to make a move for West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice. The former England international has insisted that Rice would be the best option for the Blues if they have to replace N'Golo Kante.
Kante has endured a difficult campaign so far this season having struggled with persistent injury problems.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner with France is set to miss the 2022 World Cup following hamstring surgery. The Chelsea midfielder will be out of action for four months and looks destined to leave the Blues on a free next summer.
He has already entered the final year of his deal at Stamford Bridge and has played just two games this campaign.
Murphy has claimed that Rice would be the best possible replacement for Kante.
#CFC
N'Golo Kante will be out for the next four months, Chelsea statement has confirmed 🚨🔵 #CFC
“Kante has undergone an operation on his hamstring injury. Following a successful operation, N'Golo is now expected to be sidelined for four months”. https://t.co/PmemsDKWkP
The former Liverpool midfielder has urged the Blues to pay whatever the price of bringing their former academy graduate back home. He told talkSPORT:
“There’s a simple solution for Chelsea moving forward, looking to the future, which is you’ve got one of the best holding players in Declan Rice. He loves Chelsea. He’s the one to take his role, he’s capable and would be there for the rest of his career."
He added:
“They’ll have to bite the bullet and pay whatever it is. That’s the solution to replace Kante.”
Murphy has also insisted that Kante looks very likely to leave Chelsea at the end of the season.
The Englishman has suggested that he would have already signed a new deal had he planned to extend his stay. He said:
“I imagine if he’d be staying then it’d be done. I very rarely see a player get to the last year of his contract. The lad at Villa [Douglas] Luiz did it and just signed a new one."
He added:
“Players of Kante’s ilk, he might want to go home, whatever. He might have another option. You know how good he is. It would be done if he was saying.”
Kante joined Chelsea from Leicester City in 2016. He has since played 262 matches for the club, helping them win the UEFA Champions League trophy, among other honors.
Chelsea might have to pay a premium price for Declan Rice and could also face plenty of competition
Declan Rice has emerged as one of the best players outside the top six clubs and has also cemented his position in the England starting XI.
Quite naturally, he finds his stock extremely high right now and could be on the move next summer.
Declan Rice will have a year left on his contract next summer.
He is contracted to West Ham until the summer of 2024 and the Hammers could be tempted to sell him next summer for a premium price.
As reported by Football.London in April, the Englishman is also wanted by the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United as well.
The report also suggested that West Ham wanted a fee in excess of £100 million at the time.
Rice has played over 200 senior matches for the Hammers, contributing 11 goals and 12 assists.