Former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino has delivered his verdict on Blues transfer target Declan Rice.
Rice has attracted interest from Chelsea for some time with Frank Lampard said to be a keen admirer of the West Ham United midfielder.
The Blues weren't able to make a move in the summer window after spending more than £200million strengthening other areas, but they could circle back for Rice this month or in the summer.
Not that West Ham are looking to sell the England international, who has been a key part of their solid start to the season which has them in 10th position.
It's going to take a sizable bid to lure Rice to Stamford Bridge but he might just be a player worth splashing the cash for, according to former Chelsea frontman Cascarino, who gave his verdict on TalkSPORT.
“Declan Rice can protect people,” he said.
“I learnt this early on in my career, one of the biggest skills you can have is do the simple things really well and if you can, you’ll be one hell of a player.”
Whether Lampard will be given the money to spend on Rice in the January window remains to be seen, given he hasn't managed to kick-on significantly from last season despite the large investments made in the summer, or at least not yet.
With a contract until 2024, West Ham are likely to command a fee of more than £80million for Rice, according to reports, with the 21-year-old one of the most highly-rated young players in his position.
There is also a question of whether Rice wants to return to Chelsea having been released by the club as a youngster, but that might not be an issue if his comments on wanting to play with Mason Mount again are anything to go by.
“Yeah I’d love to, I’d love to play with him at club level again," Rice told Copa 90 in 2020.
“One thing we’ve always said as kid we’d love to play with each other at club and international level.
“But obviously you never know because of different paths and things like that.”
