Why Chelsea failed to sign Declan Rice this summer
Karan Tejwani
- 12 Sept 2022 08:15 BST
- 3 min read
Chelsea were interested in a deal for West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice over the summer transfer window, but were unable to bring him to Stamford Bridge this year.
The Blues have been eyeing the player for a while and felt this year was a good chance for them to go for his signing, but were unsuccessful in their efforts.
Rice played for Chelsea as a youngster – even forming a good partnership with current star Mason Mount – but has played his entire senior career at West Ham United.
With Chelsea now looking for a long-term midfield stalwart as N’Golo Kante and Jorginho aren’t getting any younger, it seemed like a right time to bring Rice to the Blues.
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Tuchel wasn't reason for refusal
However, the potential signing has been disrupted by West Ham’s strong desire to keep him at the club and that was a major stumbling block for Chelsea.
There was a belief that the only reason Chelsea didn’t go all out for Rice this summer was due to former manager Thomas Tuchel’s resistance, but that has not proven to be the case.
Instead, according to Fabrizio Romano, it was down to West Ham deeming the player to be untouchable, and that any club would’ve found negotiations for Rice difficult.
Former Chelsea lads Emerson and Declan Rice kicking the Chelsea flag in the celebrations.. only for the goal to be disallowed 😂 pic.twitter.com/MmCSgtyTTY
— TheFootballMob (@thefootballmob) September 3, 2022
“Tuchel never turned down the chance of signing Declan Rice, Rice was simply untouchable for West Ham and so far there is no update,” Romano said, in a column for Caught Offside.
Rice has been a target for many other clubs playing in Europe over the last few years, with Manchester United and Manchester City amongst the other clubs interested in him.
He’s an integral figure for West Ham and has spoken about his desire to be successful with them, with the Hammers hoping to recover from a tough start to the current campaign.
