Chelsea have shown “no indication” that they will be “prioritising” Declan Rice over their other transfer targets such as Moises Caicedo, believes journalist Ben Jacobs.

The West Ham United midfielder has been heavily linked to Arsenal for much of the last six months, but the Blues have also reportedly shown interest at times.

Chelsea transfer news – Declan Rice

Following the Hammers’ Conference League final win on Wednesday night, chairman David Sullivan revealed that club captain Rice would leave over the summer.

Whilst the team primarily linked to the English international has been the Gunners, other sides have also shown interest, notably Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

Tuchel reportedly has “high admiration” for the 24-year-old from his time in the Premier League, per Ben Jacobs.

However, with the player’s believed desire to remain in the country, specifically London, a move to either Mike Arteta’s side or West London seems far more likely.

For the west Londoners’ part, they have yet to show much significant interest in the 6 foot 1 midfielder, instead being heavily linked to Sporting CP’s Manuel Ugarte before he opted to sign for Paris Saint Germain, per Fabrizio Romano.

According to 90min, the club are looking at a potential double swoop for both Caicedo and Rice, but there is yet to be anything concrete linking the West Ham man to West London.

What has Ben Jacobs said about the potential transfer of Declan Rice to Chelsea?

Jacobs recognises that the Blues might be interested in the 24-year-old, but their behaviour in the market so far suggests that, unlike Arsenal, they won’t prioritise the player over their other targets.

Speaking to Football FanCast, the journalist said:

“There’s no indication at this point that Chelsea are going to prioritise Rice over, for example, Caicedo. We know that Chelsea want more than one midfielder, but the fact that they went for Ugarte and the fact that Caicedio is on the radar, perhaps suggests that Chelsea won’t come into the race, and go head-to-head with Arsenal at this point.

“But obviously, Arsenal will be wary of the Mudryk saga, and it is true that Thomas Tuchel also has high admiration for Rice as well.”

Should Chelsea sign Declan Rice?

There is a reason Rice is one of the most sought-after players in the Premier League at the moment, and if the Blues have a genuine chance to pick him up, they should.

According to WhoScored, the “absolute monster”, as described by ESPN writer David Cartlidge, has an average rating of 7.01 across his 36 Premier League games this year.

The underlying numbers for the Hammers captain are just as impressive.

According to FBref, compared to players in a similar position across Europe’s top five leagues, he sits in the top 5% for interceptions, 15% for progressive carries, 17% for clearances, 19% for pass completion and top 20% for progressive passes all per 90.

That said, there is the small problem of his transfer fee.

Thanks to his excellent performances and the interest from clubs like Arsenal, the price for the player is expected to reach a minimum of £92m, per the Telegraph.

That kind of money might be better spent elsewhere for the two-time European champions, especially after outlaying £107m for Enzo Fernandez in January this year.