Chelsea would need to sell experienced star to make room for £100 million rated transfer target: Reports
Chelsea have been firm favorites to sign West Ham United star Declan Rice since the start of the season. However, West Ham's evaluation of the player may have been the reason why the Blues pulled out of a deal to sign the West Ham captain.
Now, according to a recent report from the Daily Mail, the Blues are ready to sell N'Golo Kante to make room for Rice in the summer. The 30-year-old Kante has started showing signs of recurring injuries this season. Hence, the Blues will reportedly look to replace him with the 23-year-old English midfielder.
The West Ham captain has been one of the top names on the bucketlist of many Premier League heavyweights. The likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are all heavily interested in signing the young English midfielder in the summer of 2022.
There were strong reports stating that Manchester City were after Rice. But it looks like manager Pep Guardiola has his priorities set on signing a world class striker for next season.
As a result, the transfer race to sign Rice appears to be between Manchester United and the European champions. United desperately need to sign a defensive midfielder and the club will certainly buy one player to fill the void next season. However, fans will have to wait and see whether or not it will be Rice.
The firm favorites have always been the Blues, due to the England international being a former Chelsea academy graduate.
🗞 #mufc are ready to step up interest in Declan Rice but face a fight to sign him this summer with Rice waiting to find out the level of interest from Chelsea - who would need to sell N’Golo Kante to free up space in Rice’s position. [Joe Bernstein, Mail]
Chelsea won't shy away from spending a huge transfer fee to land the 23-year-old in the summer. Therefore, a move to Stamford Bridge looks likely for the Englishman, even though it may cost the Blues than £100 million.
Chelsea win their 4th round FA Cup tie against Plymouth Argyle
Chelsea had to dig deep into extra time to find the winner against their opponents Plymouth Argyle in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Many expected the Blues to have a cake walk against their rivals. However, Plymouth showed great resilience against Thomas Tuchel's side to take them into extra time.
Plymouth got the first blood in the match as Macaulay Gillesphey scored a great goal in the eighth minute to take a 1-0 lead.
Final score Chelsea 2 Plymouth 1!!! Mainly thanks to Kepa & Cesar Azpi!! A lot of disappointing performances today. #CHEPLY https://t.co/hyOrCsqtHp
However, the Blues stood their ground and showed great patience to recover as Cesar Azpilicueta equalized in the 41st minute.
The game was dominated by the Blues with 72% possesion and 41 shots. Marcos Alonso scored the winner for his team in the dying seconds of the first half of extra time.
The Blues will face Luton Town away in the fifth round of the FA Cup.