Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf has identified West Ham United captain Declan Rice as the perfect replacement for injury-prone midfielder N’Golo Kante at Stamford Bridge.
Rice, 23, has established himself as one of the best holding midfielders in the world over the last two seasons. He has registered 11 goals and 12 assists in 212 overall appearances for the Hammers.
Incidentally, the former Ireland international was a Chelsea academy player between 2006 and 2014. After being released from the west London outfit’s youth setup, Rice spent three years with West Ham before making his senior professional debut in 2017.
Speaking to FairBettingSites, Leboeuf claimed that the Blues are in desperate need of adding a midfielder to their ranks this season. He said:
“The only position I think Chelsea need to strengthen in is central midfield as a potential replacement for N’Golo Kante. Kante is out for about four months and while Jorginho is a great player, he is not defensively minded. Mateo Kovacic is a good player, and he does his job well but he needs a partner.”
The 1998 FIFA World Cup winner asserted that Rice would be an ideal fit for the Blues if Kante departed the club. He added:
“Declan Rice is the one for me. It would be very, very interesting if Kante left, I would love to see them go and get Rice from West Ham. I get goosebumps thinking of Mason Mount and Declan Rice playing together because they are academy graduates and that’s what fans want to see.”
Rice, who has a contract until June 2024 at the London Stadium, has been linked with a move to Chelsea for quite some time. However, a price tag of £150 million has made a potential deal impossible so far.
Kante, on the other hand, has missed 14 matches for the Blues this term due to a long-term hamstring injury. He has made just two Premier League appearances in the ongoing campaign.
Mason Mount admits it was ‘tough’ to deal with Declan Rice leaving Chelsea
Speaking on Tubes & Ange Golf Life, Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount claimed that he was disappointed when Declan Rice was let go by the Blues eight years ago. He said:
“When Dec [Rice] went, it was tough. You know how close we are, but it kind of made me want to do it even more. I was gutted that he left and I felt like he shouldn’t have left. I knew the path he was going to go on and what type of person he is. I knew he was going to make it his own way.“
Both Mount and Rice have established themselves as England regulars over the years. The pair are set to represent the Three Lions in the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar next month.