Chelsea did not stop signing Declan Rice because of Thomas Tuchel, according to Fabrizio Romano, but because West Ham deemed the midfielder untouchable this summer.
The England international has been a star in the Premier League for some time and looks ideally suited to step in and replace N’Golo Kante and Jorginho at the heart of Chelsea’s midfield.
However, it remains to be seen if this will be possible, as Romano has provided insight into just how important he is to his current club West Ham.
Responding to a fan question in his exclusive CaughtOffside column today, Romano explained that Tuchel had nothing to do with the club not bringing Rice this summer.
West Ham’s stance was the main issue, with Romano explaining: “Tuchel never turned down the possibility of signing Declan Rice, Rice was just untouchable for West Ham and there is no update so far.”
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There is bound to be more speculation in the future involving Rice and a possible move to a Big Six club, as he would surely strengthen many other of the Premier League’s biggest names, as well as Europe’s biggest teams.
However, Rice has been a very important player for West Ham, so it remains to be seen who can realistically muster enough money to seal this deal.
