Chelsea: 'Tuchel really wants' £150m star at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel ‘really, really wants’ to sign West Ham United star Declan Rice following Todd Boehly’s takeover at Stamford Bridge, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

A consortium led by Boehly has officially completed their takeover of the Blues, with the £4.25billion deal to take the club off Roman Abramovich’s hands going through on Monday, and it seems Rice could be the first acquisition of the new regime.

Rice was released by Chelsea at the age of 14, and that has proved to be a costly mistake by the west Londoners.

That is because the central midfielder has gone on to establish himself as an England international, winning 29 caps, and nailed down a regular starting berth at West Ham since.

Although Rice has rejected a third new contract offer from his current employers and made it clear that he is open to leaving the London Stadium this summer, the Hammers will fight to keep the 23-year-old on their books.

West Ham have slapped a £150million price tag on Rice and even attempted to entice him into signing on the dotted line by tabling a fresh eight-year deal worth £200,000-per-week.

However, the midfielder has yet to put pen to paper and it has previously been revealed that he would prefer a move to Chelsea if he were to seal his West Ham exit.

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Jones understands Chelsea have turned their attentions towards signing Rice after seemingly missing out on Monaco defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who is reportedly on his way to Real Madrid.

The transfer insider believes Tuchel, who has been in the Stamford Bridge hot seat since January 2021, is an admirer of the West Ham and England star.

Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “Missing