Frank Lampard has played down a move for Declan Rice in the summer. The West Ham United midfielder has been linked with a move to Chelsea FC in recent weeks. There are rumors that Lampard wants to play Rice as center-back for the Blues next season.
Labelling Rice “a good player”, the Chelsea FC boss, however, was reluctant to entertain any further queries concerning a move for the midfielder in the summer. Lampard stated that Chelsea FC are not pursuing any new players at the moment. The Blues will welcome Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech shortly, with both players set to become a part of Chelsea from 1st July.
Rice has been a consistently good performer for The Hammers in recent seasons. The English international has been touted by West Ham United boss David Moyes to be the best midfielder among the Premier League side’s ranks. However, Moyes has stated that he does intend to keep Rice at West Ham, despite interest from other top sides in the 21-year old.
Moyes further claimed that he could see Rice becoming a future Hammers captain one day. The former Manchester United FC coach added that despite being a phenomenal young talent, Rice still had to improve on his game a lot. Moreover, Moyes voiced his desire of building a future West Ham team around the presence of Rice in the side’s midfield.
There is widespread speculation that Rice would like to leave The Hammers at the end of the current season. West Ham finds themselves in a relegation battle at the bottom end of the Premier League table. However, even if David Moyes’s side manage to survive the drop, Rice would prefer to seal a move elsewhere.
Lampard has been known to be an admirer of Rice for a long time. The 21-year old West Ham player had come through Chelsea FC’s youth academy before being released at the age of 14. Since then, Rice has made his name known all over England through his fantastic performances for The Hammers.
Despite Rice being a traditional holding midfielder, Lampard wants the player to partner Antonio Rudiger at the heart of Chelsea FC’s defense. The player himself is open to the idea of changing his position on the pitch to suit Lampard’s style of play.
