Why this England wonderkid would be an ideal addition to Chelsea

Bengaluru, Aug 10: Chelsea are likely to be one of the most active clubs in the transfer market this time around and in fact, the Blues have already started their activity in the market even before the end of the season and they done so in some style.

With deals for Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner already wrapped up, the Blues are also believed to be closing in on mega moves for German wonderkid Kai Havertz and England wonderkid Declan Rice, a player they released for nothing from their academy back in 2014.

Rice has since worked his way phenomenally to become one of the brightest prospects in English football with West Ham United and despite his team's struggles this campaign, he has been one of the most impressive young players in the Premier League.

It is strongly reported that Chelsea are inching closer to a mega-deal worth around £70million to bring their former academy graduate back to the club with West Ham United in desperate need to sell the England international in order to fund their own signings.

Rice, at the age of 21, has outgrown the East London club and the Hammers are believed to be happy to cash in. Here, we will take a look at the 21-year-old and try to analyze why he would be a fantastic addition to the Chelsea side.

Defensively excellent

Rice has emerged as one of the most gifted defensive midfielders of the game during the past couple of seasons and Chelsea desperately need someone like the England international to solve their defensive problems. Despite managing to finish fourth this season, the Blues have conceded the most number of goals in the Premier League this campaign and even bottom half clubs like Burnley and Crystal Palace have conceded lesser than the Blues' tally of 54 goals.

Kepa Arrizabalaga has been dismal between the sticks but the back four and those in front of them also should get some blame for that and Rice could have an immediate impact if he moves to Stamford Bridge this summer.

The 21-year-old has managed the fourth-highest number of tackles this season in the Premier League i.e. 116 while he has established himself as a strong interceptor too and that is evident from his average of 2 interceptions per game. It is needless to say someone with so much defensive awareness will be a brilliant addition to this Chelsea team and probably the most important one.

A versatile footballer

England have always boasted some amazingly versatile footballers over the years and Declan Rice is the latest such product. The 21-year-old feels most at home in defensive midfield but he also well capable of slotting in at the heart of the defence and can also feature in a traditional number eight role.

He is also tactically very much aware and can be useful both in a three-man midfield as well as in a two-man midfield pivot. With Jorginho likely to depart the club following his underwhelming campaign under Lampard and N'Golo Kante also struggling with injuries, Chelsea badly need someone solid like Rice in the middle of the park and his versatility is certainly an added incentive for the manager especially looking at the options Chelsea right now have in their back four.

Can be a key member of the Lampard's youth revolution at Stamford Bridge

This has been a season to remember for Chelsea because of many reasons and the biggest one of them is the emergence of young players as first-team regulars. Lampard took over the club when a transfer ban was looming over the club and he made the best possible use of it by keeping his belief in youngsters like Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and others.

There is a feel-good factor in the dressing room with so many young and highly-rated players in the side and Rice would be an ideal addition to this core of players. He is a former Chelsea youngster and is close friends with most of the players already. The transition would not be hard for the youngster and he could prove to be the lynchpin of the side around whom Lampard can assemble his squad for a foreseeable future.