Frank Lampard is keen to strengthen his backline as Chelsea remains heavily active in the transfer market. With high-profile signings including Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner done and dusted, the Blues now target Declan Rice to pillar one of the centre-back positions.
Although the 21-year-old has primarily played as a defensive midfielder for the Hammers, Frank Lampard admires his defensive capabilities and sees him as a solution to Chelsea’s defensive problems.
The player featured just one time at the centre-back position in his past 40 appearances with West Ham. However, Lampard’s vision for Rice to handle the Chelsea defence is no coincidence.
The England international mostly featured at the back in his youth days. Rice played every single minute of West Ham’s 2019-20 Premier League campaign – topping the club’s stats for most passes, tackles and interceptions. These are the three vital ingredients Lampard would expect from his future defensive general.
Now, Chelsea legend and former world-class defender John Terry has backed Frank Lampard’s perspective as Declan Rice was spotted hanging out with the Aston Villa assistant coach.
The former Chelsea captain posted a picture on his official Instagram handle sitting beside the Rice as he joked how they might have made an excellent defensive partnership. Terry also praised the player’s immense potential by stating that Rice is “an unbelievable player who will continue to get better and better.”
Chelsea fans also hailed the 39-year-old as ‘Agent JT‘ and consider the meeting to be a step in the right direction as far as the transfer for Declan Rice is concerned.
Check out the Instagram post from John Terry below –