"Looking for a younger player with better qualities" - Noel Whelan believes Chelsea could cash in on key player to sign Premier League superstar

Should Declan Rice return to his old club this summer?

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has urged Chelsea to sell Jorginho and use the funds to sign West Ham United captain Declan Rice.

Whelan believes that Rice will be a massive upgrade in Chelsea's midfield.

He recently told Football Insider's Evan Kingsbury:

“They’ve chosen not to keep Jorginho around. That suggests to me that they’re looking for a younger player with better qualities. Let’s see where West Ham finish up after the season ends. There is bound to be a lot of speculation about Declan Rice, especially after the fantastic season he’s had."

Rice has hinted in the past that he would like to pair up with his close friend Mason Mount, who plays for the Blues. Addressing those rumors, Whelan said:

“It’s clear he would like to come back to Chelsea and also to link up with his best mate Mason Mount. Any money they can get from selling him, I’m sure they’ll be putting towards a move for Rice – if he wants to leave.”

13 years of friendship. We’ve come along way... and so have the trims 👊🏼❤😂 @_DeclanRice https://t.co/hbLFe9usoA

Rice is a former Blues academy product. The 23-year-old Englishman is currently the Hammers captain and is one of the club's most influential players. Rice has registered five goals and four assists this season despite playing as a defensive midfielder for David Moyes' men.

Should Chelsea sell Jorginho and sign Rice?

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel currently has Mateo Kovacic, N'Golo Kante, Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek as regular options in deep midfield positions.

Kovacic is in the form of his life and Loftus-Cheek is steadily improving under Tuchel. Jorginho has been underwhelming this season but is still a more than able backup option for the Blues. Kante, despite being north of 30, remains one of the club's biggest assets for the near future.

The club will also see the return of Conor Gallagher from his loan spell at Crystal Palace. The young Englishman has been a revelation for Patrick Vieira's men this season, scoring eight goals and five assists. It seems Chelsea have enough quality to sustain themselves even without the addition of Declan Rice.

Moreover, according to David Moyes, any interested party will have to pay West Ham around £150 million to sign the Hammers captain. This is a lot of capital that the Blues can use to address the other concerning positions on the pitch.

David Moyes on Declan Rice:

"The first thing to say is that he is not for sale. If you are interested, well, it will be north of that [£150M] because £100M was cheap last summer."

[via @TeleFootball]