Chelsea are reportedly ready to cash in on at least two players in order to fund a move for Declan Rice, valued at £80 million by West Ham United.
According to a report by Football Insider, Chelsea are willing to offload at least a couple of players to generate funds to sign Declan Rice in the January transfer window. The English international has an £80 million price tag and as a result, Chelsea could place Jorginho, Antonio Rudiger and Marcos Alonso on the chopping block.
Declan Rice has grown leaps and bounds since leaving the Chelsea academy to join the West Ham United youth setup in 2015. In the half-a-decade that has passed since, the 21-year-old has rapidly made massive strides to now become an ever-present figure in midfield for the Hammers as well as the English national side.
In fact, over the course of the year, Rice has even donned the armband on several occasions, with club captain Mark Noble being phased out in the latter stages of his career. Meanwhile, Rice has amassed over 100 appearances for West Ham and the English international’s progress has been duly noted by some of the biggest clubs in the Premier League, none more so than Chelsea.
Chelsea were heavily linked with a move for Rice in the summer as well to round off a busy transfer window. A move, though, failed to materialise, with Frank Lampard choosing not to add to his central midfield options.
The interest from Chelsea, though, has now reappeared and Rice continues to be on their radar. The Blues will need to generate funds in order to make a move for the 21-year-old, who was reportedly valued at £80 million in the summer by West Ham.
In order to finally swoop Rice away from the London Stadium, Chelsea are willing to offload at least two players, as per the report. The players who could feature on the chopping block are Antonio Rudiger, Marcos Alonso and Jorginho, each of whom were linked with a summer exit.
Rudiger was linked with a return to Serie A till the final day of the summer transfer window while Alonso has been deemed surplus to requirements following a horrific start to the season and the arrival of Ben Chilwell at Stamford Bridge.
Jorginho, too, revealed recently that Arsenal were intent on signing him this past summer, but has pledged his future to Chelsea. Nevertheless, the Chelsea vice-captain could offer the best chance of raising the bulk of the £80 million required to sign Rice, who could be a direct replacement for the Italian international in midfield.
Chelsea do plan on establishing contact with West Ham over a possible January move, with the Hammers bracing themselves for a winter bid as well. What now remains to be seen is if the Blues are able to raise the money required to make an £80 million swoop for Rice.