Chelsea transfer target Declan Rice targeting trophies in quest to become a complete midfielder

Barring any unexpected changes in plans, all signs point to Chelsea making Declan Rice our primary transfer target for next summer. As such, it behooves us to keep an eye on him as he tries to anchor West Ham’s midfield in the meantime.

As if our prior connections with the 21-year-old, his close friendship with Mason Mount, or the current’s squads needs weren’t enough to motivate things along, that possibility (eventuality?) certainly fits with the 21-year-old’s ambitions for his career.

“As a footballer you only get one career and it goes by very quick.

“You want to be successful for club and country. I think it’s an important thing to win trophies. There’s talk of Harry Kane at Spurs and what he should be doing, obviously he can do whatever he wants. He’s going to win trophies we all know that.

“I think that’s something I want to aim for as well. I’m only 21 but to get those highs of your career you need to win stuff and that’s what I want to do.”

West Ham may be off to a pretty decent start this season, but their chances of actually winning trophies remain pretty low. Outside of promotion playoffs, their last trophy win came in 1980 in the FA Cup, though they did make the final in 2006 as well.

Rice has been a key factor in the Hammers’ start, which has them sitting 8th with the division’s joint second-best defensive record, playing mostly as a holding midfielder. As we know, he’s also more than capable at centre back, the sort of versatility that should make him an even more attractive transfer target for Chelsea, or anyone else for that matter.

“I’ve played midfield now for the last three seasons. I think people get carried away with kind of what they want me to do.

“My role is holding midfielder. There isn’t really any flair in that. I can slot in at centre-half but I think I’ve got much more to give and I think my confidence is growing in midfield. I think the more I start to drive forward with the ball like I’ve been doing in recent games.”

“I’ve watched the top players like Patrick Vieira and Yaya Touré, every time they see a bit of space they drive into it they look powerful, they look strong and I think as a holding midfielder that’s rare these days. If I can keep adding that into my game I can keep catching the eye.”

-Declan Rice; source: Sky Sports via Metro

If Declan Rice wants to be the next Yaya Touré or Patrick Vieira, that should only encourage our potential intentions to bring him back into the fold.