This summer Chelsea are looking to recruit two England internationals. It looks likely that the Blues are planning to make a move for the English duo of Ben Chilwell and Declan Rice to help bolster their chances of a title challenge next season.
Chelsea were given a transfer ban at the start of the 2019/20 season for the summer window and could only do their business in the January window. However, they were unable to make any strong movement in the market except with the signing of Hakim Ziyech from Ajax but that was done outside the window so he will not make his Chelsea debut until the 2020/21 season.
However, under manager Frank Lampard, Chelsea have been able to use their youth system effectively and the balance of youth and experienced Premier League winners has worked at times. Unfortunately, it has not been as consistent as Lampard would like and he will be looking to summer transfer window for bringing in players and showing some others the exit door.
On the arrival front it is rumoured he is looking to two bright young English talents who have attracted a lot of attention from around the league. Both have stepped up on the international front and are very much in the long-term plans of manager Gareth Southgate.
Declan Rice, who is currently with West Ham, is an example of the hard-working midfielder that Lampard wants in his side. In centre midfield there would be competition from N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Ross Barkley and Mateo Kovacic but with the versatility of Rice he could fill in at centre back if that is where Lampard feels he would benefit the most.
Ben Chilwell is one of the most exciting left backs in the country if not the world and it will be hard for Chelsea to secure his signature. With the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Liverpool all looking at Chilwell, it will be interesting to see if he can be enticed away from a very good Leicester side who are currently higher than Chelsea. However, with Marcos Alonso closing in on his 30th birthday and not holding down a place in Lampard’s side, a new first team left back is high on the list for the Chelsea manager and Chilwell would be the perfect acquisition.
Chelsea have to be prepared to pay the “Young English player premium” on these two if they feel they are the right men to help lead the club forward. Essentially, they will not come cheap and even in an inflated market they may find themselves overpaying for the pair of them. More than likely they will be paying a combined transfer fee of around £100 million to £130 million just for these two players.
With the figure quoted there the Chelsea hierarchy need to be 100% certain that these are the perfect players to help Chelsea push onto the next stage domestically and continentally. They do not want another Danny Drinkwater incident on their hands. They have to get it right.
