West Ham’s Michail Antonio has suggested teammate Declan Rice would walk into the Chelsea line-up if he moved to Stamford Bridge.
Rice, 24, is the West Ham captain and one of the top midfielders in the Premier League.
With his contract at the London Stadium expiring in 2024, there’s lots of speculation in the transfer rumour mill about his future.
Chelsea have been frequently linked in recent times with a move for their former academy player. However, recent reports indicate it’s unlikely he’ll end up moving across London to join the Blues.
The Daily Mail says West Ham’s £80million-rated midfielder is unlikely to join Chelsea because of Enzo Fernandez’s January arrival. Instead, they name Arsenal as a main runner in the race to sign Rice this summer.
Declan Rice future
West Ham striker Antonio, 32, has made it clear he thinks Rice is easily good enough to play for any of the top clubs in England, including Chelsea.
In addition, his verdict on the 24-year-old’s future is that “anything can happen”.
When discussing Rice on The Footballer’s Football Podcast, Antonio said: “He has been linked everywhere. Arsenal, Man City, Man United, Chelsea… He’s a quality player and he deserves to be in one of those teams so he’s going to be linked with anyone.
“It’s whatever happens obviously. I think he has a year and a half left on his contract and anything can happen. He could end up anywhere because I think he could play in any of those teams.”
A Rice-Fernandez pivot in the Chelsea midfield next season could be something quite remarkable, but you’re talking about nearly £200million in total to make that happen. Therefore, you can understand why rumours point towards Graham Potter’s men missing out on the West Ham talisman.
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