According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, the Chelsea board aren’t convinced about the idea of signing Declan Rice and Ben Chilwell despite Frank Lampard’s determination to sign both players.
Chelsea could spend as much as £70 million for 21 year old Declan Rice and £80 million for 23 year old left-back Ben Chilwell.
“They will of course look to strengthen defensively,” Ornstein said on the Tifo Podcast’s Ask Ornstein show. “We know of their interest in Ben Chilwell of Leicester. I don’t think everybody is convinced at Chelsea about the fee that it will take to prise him out of Leicester’s hands, maybe around £50m.
“Frank Lampard definitely wants to sign him and I do think Chelsea are ahead of Manchester City in the pecking order.
“City are also interested but they’re still involved in Champions League football. They, like Chelsea, would have to move on one or more left-backs to free up the space and potentially the finance too. “That’s going to be a really interesting one and both clubs have other options too.
“In central defence, we know that Lampard is very fond of Declan Rice at West Ham and would like to convert him from a midfielder into a top centre-back.
“They’ve already made attacking additions as we know with Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech and it’s going to be a busy summer at Stamford Bridge as they look to get back to challenging for the very top honours on a regular basis.”
“I know people in football who think he can become world class in that position. “West Ham will demand an incredibly high fee, sources have suggested in the region of £65m to £70m, they don’t need to sell and they’re in a strong position contractually. “I don’t think everybody at Chelsea is convinced by Declan Rice but it’s definitely one that Lampard wants.