Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel interested in making move for Manchester United target - Reports
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel is reportedly interested in bringing Manchester United target Declan Rice to Stamford Bridge. The West Ham United midfielder is open to a move, but the Hammers are reluctant to sell their prized asset.
The Blues are looking to rebuild their midfield after a disappointing 2021-22 campaign, finishing third in the Premier League and losing to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals. They are eyeing a move for Rice, as per The Guardian, who has been impressive for West Ham in the last few seasons.
Well done chaps @_DeclanRice @_JarrodBowen and congratulations Jarrod on your first England call up, I hope the first of many. Well deserved. Dg https://t.co/H8qpsSXApM
The Englishman is very highly rated by Tuchel, who was previously quoted as saying:
"Very highly. He is available, is captain, plays with a lot of responsibility, is a physical player, very strategic-minded player, a key player for his team, and is strong at set-pieces. This is not a surprise. Everybody sees this. He is a huge part of the success of West Ham, and it is impressive."
Manchester United are also in the race for the midfielder, who was once a part of Chelsea'a academy. The Blues released him as a 14-year-old, but are now looking to bring him to replace Jorginho.
West Ham United not ready to sell Chelsea and Manchester United target Declan Rice
West Ham manager David Moyes has said that West Ham are not looking to sell Decland Rice any time soon. The Hammers manager was quoted by The Athletic as saying:
"The first thing to say is that he is not for sale. If you are interested, well, it will be north of that. One hundred (million pounds) was cheap last summer. One hundred and fifty just now would be minimum, but he is not for sale. What I do know is that it means there are only certain clubs that could even consider it."
Moyes continued:
"They said, 'No, there is a price, and if someone wants to pay the price, then we would probably do it. If they don't, then he's not going anywhere'. That's it. They have kept him. We have got Declan on the best part of a three-and-a-half-year contract. Just like Tottenham have got Kane on a contract. They control what happens."
Rice has rejected multiple contract renewal offers from West Ham, though.
Five years and 194 appearances later...
🗓 #OnThisDay in 2017, @_DeclanRice made his debut for the Club! https://t.co/oS2IOXL4G3
He is keen on challenging for trophies soon and believes he needs to move out of West Ham for that to happen. Earlier this month, a report by 90Min claimed that West Ham could be open to selling the former Chelsea youth player for around £120 million.