Chelsea to end Rice pursuit in favour of young academy star
FT Desk
- 18 Feb 2022 09:57 GMT
- 5 min read
For much of the season Chelsea’s main transfer target for the coming summer transfer window has undoubtedly been West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.
Just about every newspaper up and down England has reported that the Stamford Bridge side are set on breaking their own transfer records to sign the England international.
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Routinely referencing his admiration for former Chelsea captain John Terry, Rice seems like a shoe-in as a future Chelsea star. However, that may be about to change in the next few months.
According to the Standard, Chelsea have now cooled their interest in Rice due to the fact that they have their own promising box-to-box talent on loan at Crystal Palace and when he returns from his stint across the capital, Thomas Tuchel’s side may have no need to break the bank by signing Rice.
How similar are Gallagher and Rice?
Of course, the English newspaper are undoubtedly talking about Conor Gallagher, who has been going from strength to strength in the Premier League with Palace this season.
Indeed, from no less than 21 games for Patrick Vieira’s side, the English talent has already picked up seven goals and three assists, alongside some impressive defensive duties in the middle of the park.
As such, it’s easy to see why Chelsea may instead favour Gallagher over Rice. So far this season, both players have primarily played as ball-winning midfielders for their respective sides, with Gallagher perhaps playing a more box-to-box role, while Rice has preferred to keep a holding role for his West Ham side.
However, if Chelsea are to make any changes to their midfield next season it will be in an effort to find long-term replacements for Jorginho and N’Golo Kante - whose contracts expire in 2023 - so any new faces would likely have to play their box-to-box roles.
Which, undoubtedly, fits in perfectly well with Gallagher’s own style of play and what he has been thriving with at Palace.
