We 'signed' Declan Rice for Chelsea in summer transfer window and he took them to another level

West Ham midfielder Declan Rice is a Chelsea target ahead of the summer transfer window, with Thomas Tuchel looking to sign a midfielder for next season.

Rice has been tipped to move away from West Ham for the last 18 months, with the 22-year-old's stock rising seemingly with each passing month, and is now considered one of the Premier League's best midfielders. understands that Chelsea are long-term admirers of Rice, who is a name on their midfield shortlist alongside Monaco's Aurelien Tchouameni.

However, also understands that as far as The Hammers are concerned, nothing has changed and Rice is not for sale at any price.

Rice left Chelsea when he was released by the club at 14, but the Blues now face competition from Manchester United for his signature as they look to re-sign the 23-year-old, with the Hammers valuing the midfielder at a whopping £100 million.

So, if Rice was to make a return to Chelsea this summer, what sort of impact could he have on Thomas Tuchel's side?

Could the ex-Chelsea academy player help bring the Premier League back to Stamford Bridge?

To find out, we simulated next season with Rice in the Chelsea squad and this is what happened.

To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for Rice to join Chelsea in the upcoming summer transfer window, on FM22.

In the summer transfer window, Tuchel spent another £110 million on other signings, including Sporting Lisbon's Pedro Goncalves, Barcelona's Ronald Araujo and Augsburg's Ruben Vargas.

This is Rice's in-game profile on FM22.

Let's take a look at how Rice performed under Tuchel's guidance during the 2022/23 season at Chelsea.

The midfielder instantly became an important member of the Chelsea squad, with the midfielder