Former Chelsea assistant manager Jody Morris has revealed Arsenal ace Declan Rice was ready to re-sign for the Blues when with West Ham.
Morris says former manager Frank Lampard wanted then West Ham midfielder Rice added as cover for N’Golo Kante.
He said in an interview with No Tippy Tappy Football brought to you by William Hill: “I was always on Frank Lampard’s case saying how unbelievable Rice would be for us when N’Golo Kante kept getting injured.
“And he wasn’t sure at first, but a month later he was all over him!
“I messaged Declan Rice when I was at Chelsea, and I asked him whether he’d come back, even after being released by the club.
“He said, ‘I’m a Chelsea fan, of course I would!’
“And from then on Lampard was speaking to him and the upstairs members at the club were talking to his parents.”
He continued: “In the end, it got put on the back burner in favour of a couple of other signings.
“It didn’t end up going through, but at the time they were quoting around £60-65 million so that would’ve been a steal for someone who could have easily been at the club for 10 years.”