Chelsea have been linked with Declan Rice all summer – and in fact for a year or more – but in the last few weeks the whispers have gone quiet.
It may be that the clubs are working on a deal behind the scenes – it may well also be that we were never interested and it was all paper talk anyway.
But perhaps the most likely situation is that the sudden availability of players like Kai Havertz and Thiago Silva, as well as the necessary additions of Ben Chilwell and a goalkeeper, mean that Rice has been pushed down the priority list.
It could work out perfectly. He gets another season as a captain and leader at West Ham, while we wring a final year of quality play out of Silva.
Then, next summer, with fewer priority areas to strengthen and more money in the bank, we can return for Rice and get him when he’s a year closer to the end of his contract.
