Chelsea came close to signing West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice this summer, with Todd Boehly even structuring payments for his transfer, according to journalist Simon Phillips.
Thomas Tuchel oversaw a busy few months of business in west London and has brought in over £250 million worth of new players.
What is the latest on Rice?
According to The Athletic, West Ham have slapped a £150 million asking price on Rice in a bid to deter potential suitors.
Back in April, David Moyes also emphasised that the 23-year-old would not be leaving, telling a press conference: “The first thing to say is that he is not for sale. If you are interested, well, it will be north of that. One hundred (million pounds) was cheap last summer. One hundred and fifty just now would be minimum but he is not for sale.”
However, it is understood that Rice would be open to joining Chelsea, after previously being dropped by the Blues academy as a teenager.
Manchester United and Manchester City have both held a reported interest in the 32-cap England international, but with the pair signing Casemiro and Kalvin Phillips respectively this summer, it remains to be seen whether they will remain in the race.
What has Phillips said on a potential transfer?
Phillips understands that Chelsea pushed hard to try and sign Rice in the summer window, even going as far as to structure their payments for a deal.
The journalist says that the new owners at Stamford Bridge gave their all to try and secure his signature but ultimately came up short.
Phillips told GIVEMESPORT: “The owners did all they could to try and get him. They went to West Ham, they had conversations about him and I was told that it even went as far as structuring the payments of the deal.”
What did Chelsea get up to this summer?
It was a serious summer of change in west London, with a quarter of a billion pounds spent on eight new arrivals.
Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly came in to bolster Tuchel’s options at the back while Denis Zakaria and Carney Chukwuemeka will provide choice in midfield.
In attack, some familiar Premier League names have arrived. First, Raheem Sterling made the move from Manchester City before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang signed from Barcelona on deadline day.
But there is no doubting that the club needed additions, with Timo Werner, Emerson, Romelu Lukaku, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen all among the players to leave.
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