In a recent report, Eurosport revealed that Chelsea remain the favorites to land West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice this summer. It is understood that the Blues could face competition in the form of Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City in pursuit of the England international in this off-season (via Eurosport).
Rice’s Impressive Form In English Football Last Season
Rice experienced another solid campaign at East London as he produced a run of dominant displays at the heart of David Moyes’ midfield. The 22-year-old scored two goals and picked up one assist and two yellow cards in 35 appearances for the Hammers in the previous campaign across all fronts.
The London-born sensation caught the eye by averaging 1.8 tackles, 1.8 interceptions, 1.1 clearances, 0.8 shots, 0.7 key passes and 0.9 dribbles per 90 minutes in Premier League football. He has been tidy with his ball distribution after making 88% of his attempted passes in the English top-flight (stats via whoscored).
The English sensation’s current contract at the London Stadium runs out in the summer of 2024, so it would take a sizable offer for the Blues to acquire his services during this summer transfer window. At 22, Rice could benefit from joining Thomas Tuchel’s revolution at Stamford Bridge where he will have a more realistic chance of winning trophies in the coming seasons.
What Will Rice Bring To The London Stadium?
Rice is often quick to snuff out the danger and can time his challenges well to make some crucial interceptions in midfield. He is a tireless worker at the centre of the park and can keep possession ticking quite well for his side.
The English midfield ace doesn’t take too many chances with his clearances and can even set up some inviting chances for his teammates up top. However, he needs to work on improving his productivity in the final third if he intends to be a success story at the highest level.
Recruiting Rice will be a massive coup for the Blues as he is already good enough to earn a regular starting spot in Tuchel’s first team. He could even serve as a great long-term successor to N’Golo Kante, who has got less than two years remaining in his Chelsea contract. We can expect Rice to bring plenty of bite and steel to Tuchel’s midfield department. More importantly, he could help the West London giants challenge for the Premier League title next season, so Tuchel would be wise to go all out to land him ahead of the new campaign.
