Declan Rice has been heavily linked with a move to Chelsea lately, with clubs expected to begin queuing up for his signature at the end of the season. Thomas Tuchel's side have been at the forefront of the transfer rumour mill, with the German boss speaking publicly expressing his fondness for the midfielder.
The 23-year-old has been imperious for Davis Moyes' side in recent times and he's grown into a pivotal piece in West Ham's puzzle. Losing Rice would be a major loss for the east Londoners, who will surely be forced into the transfer market in the coming transfer windows.
With that being said, football.london takes a look at the latest developments on the England international's future and where he could potentially be playing his football at the start of next season.
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Man City make final decision
Manchester City have no interest in signing Rice this summer, according to BBC journalist Mick Minay. Pep Guardiola's side were previously linked with the midfielder, though reports have surfaced extinguishing the prospect.
The MailOnline add that the Cityzens are wary of repeating the the same mistake, following their misfortunes when trying to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham in the summer.
West Ham outline price tag
Moyes has rejected the prospect of Rice leaving the London Stadium this summer. The Scotsman insisted it would take £150m for Rice to leave.
"The first thing to say is that he is not for sale," Moyes said earlier this month when asked whether the aforementioned sum is feasible. "If you are interested, well, it will be north of that. One hundred [million] was cheap last summer. One hundred and fifty just now would be the minimum, but he is not for sale. What I do know is that it means there are only certain clubs that could even consider it."
Tuchel lauds Rice
Tuchel spoke earlier in the season about Rice being a "Chelsea boy" given he earned the first of his stripes in the club's academy. And, ahead of the Irons' visit to Stamford Bridge time around, the Blues boss was asked how he rated the midfielder.
“Very highly," Tuchel replied, during his pre-match media duties. "He seems to be a very nice guy from what everybody tells me and is from the Chelsea academy and he proves this [his quality]. That’s the most important thing. It feels like he plays every single game.
“He is available, is captain, plays with a lot of responsibility, is a physical player, very strategic-minded player, a key player for his team, and is strong at set-pieces. This is not a surprise. Everybody sees this. He is a huge part of the success of West Ham and it is impressive.”
Chelsea told to use Ronaldo-style transfer technique
Gary Neville said that West Ham should accept their fate ahead of the summer. Speaking on Sky Sports Super Sunday, the former Manchester United defender said the Hammers must be 'mature'.
"Declan Rice, we know he’s going to leave in the next year or two," he said. "Because of the relationship, I think they can be really mature about this. I don’t think it has to be played out in the media.
Neville added by telling Chelsea that they can use Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from Old Trafford in 2009 as a template. He said: "When Cristiano [Ronaldo] left Man United the first time, it didn’t have an impact on the club because everyone knew what was happening. There was no sort of wondering what was happening, there was no speculation."
