West Ham have been told to cash in on Chelsea target Declan Rice this summer amid their £150 million valuation.
Rice, 23, has become one of the most-wanted midfielders in England following his rise at West Ham.
Manchester United and Manchester City have both shown interest, while Chelsea have had a long-standing admiration for the England international, under previous boss Frank Lampard and now Thomas Tuchel.
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Chelsea let go of Rice in his academy days and want to reunite with the midfielder but it will take a substantial amount of money to convince West Ham to part ways with their most prized asset.
Rice is now valued at around £150 million despite rejecting three fresh contract offers. His current deal expires in 2025 and it's unlikely they will sell this summer before the World Cup later this year.
Chelsea had the chance to sign Rice last summer for £100 million but deemed the fee too high, something boss David Moyes believe was a bargain compared to a year later.
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He said in April: "The first thing to say is that he is not for sale. If you are interested, well, it will be north of that (£150 million) because £100 million was cheap last summer.
“£150 million just now would be the minimum, but he is not for sale. What I do know is that it means there are only certain clubs that could even consider it.”
Tuchel was full of praise for the former Chelsea academy star, telling reporters in April: "I rate him very highly. It’s not just that he seems to be a very nice guy, everybody tells me from the Chelsea academy, but he proves it, that is the most important thing. He proves it and it feels like he plays every single game.
"He is available, he is captain, he plays with a lot of responsibility, he is a very physical player. A very, very strategic-minded player. A key player for his team. Strong in set-pieces. But that I think that is not a surprise, everybody sees it. He takes responsibility. He is a huge part of the success of this team. And it’s impressive, of course."
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Chelsea are under new ownership and ready to back Tuchel with £200 million in the summer window. A move for Rice cannot be ruled out despite other areas of the pitch being of priority for the Blues as they eye a rebuild to cope with the losses of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
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N'Golo Kante and Jorginho will see their futures resolved this summer ahead of their contracts expiring next summer. Movement in the midfield in terms of incomings will all depend on any outgoings.
But former Chelsea defender Glen Johnson believes the Hammers should cash in and sell their captain for big money while they can.
“Yes absolutely," responded Johnson when asked by BettingOdds if they should cash in sooner rather than later.
"It’s not good business to let players walk out for free or run their contract down. It doesn’t make any sense. West Ham have to be ruthless with him and say 'here’s the contract, either sign it and if you don’t want to sign it then you’ve got to go'.
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"You can’t let your best players leave on either a discount or a free. If West Ham don’t believe he’s going to commit himself long-term then they’ve got to get rid of him."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Declan Rice, Chelsea, West Ham United, Premier League, Football, Chelsea Transfer News & Rumours, Transfers