Natalie Sawyer has been speaking on the latest episode of The Times’ The Game Football Podcast and discussed claims that Chelsea see Declan Rice as the successor to John Terry.
Sawyer left most of the talking to Gregor Robertson and Tom Roddy but did provide this little snippet of information relating to a piece in The Times from earlier in the week written by co-panellist Roddy.
Here is what she had to say about Rice after initially talking about Kai Havertz and then going on to question Robertson on Chelsea’s weaknesses.
“With The Times also reporting this week that Frank Lampard has stepped up his interest in West Ham midfielder Declan Rice as they see him as a successor to John Terry in the Chelsea defence, where else do you think they need improving, Gregor?”
Speaking a little bit later on in the podcast, Robertson picked out the Blues’ defence as their weak spot.
“I think there was a stat where Chelsea had scored two or more goals in the last eight games, but they’d also conceded more goals than [Crystal] Palace.
“So, it’s no secret that their defence is the biggest issue.”
It seems as if Chelsea want to sign West Ham star and see him as the man to solve their defensive issues.
Do you think Chelsea will meet West Ham's asking price for Rice?
No
Yes
TIF Thoughts…
The 21-year-old has played as a centre-back for West Ham on 18 occasions (Transfermarkt), so he can play there, but this season he has been mainly used as a defensive midfielder and has earned an average rating of 6.9 for his displays from midfield.
However, Chelsea have the likes of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante as players who play as defensive midfielders, so if he were to move to Stamford Bridge, then he might have to be played as a centre-back.
Rice is valued at £44.55m by Transfermarkt, but there are reports that the Hammers want upwards of £70m for Rice, so it will be interesting to see if Chelsea come up with the fee required to take the 21-year-old to Stamford Bridge.