Chelsea legend makes major claim over key Arsenal transfer target amid West Ham United ‘frustration’

Former Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has revealed he was keen to sign Arsenal-bound Declan Rice during his first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge.

The West Ham United and England star is currently putting the final touches to a £105million move to the Emirates Stadium as Mikel Arteta closes in on the signing of his main transfer target. Sky Sports News have reported the Hammers are becoming ‘increasingly frustrated’ over delays in completing the deal as they look to bring in a replacement and begin the rebuild after the loss of their club captain.

Rice has become an integral figure at the London Stadium, making just under 250 appearances for the Hammers after making his debut on the final day of the 2016/17 season and he signed off on a high when he led the club to their Europa Conference League Final win against Fiorentina last month.

However, things could have been very different for Rice had Lampard been granted his wish to add the Hammers star to his Chelsea squad during his first managerial reign at Stamford Bridge between 2019 and 2021.

Speaking recently about the Blues recruitment to the Diary of a CEO podcast: “There are phases. I left, Chelsea won the Champions League three or four months after I left.

“At that point, you go where’s the next move, how was the recruitment then, how did things work then. Maybe some players left during that period, maybe in terms of recruitment you wanted to bring in some that could be the future.

“When I was at Chelsea before, I wanted to bring in Declan Rice. I thought this kid is going to be the captain of Chelsea for the next 10 years. It didn’t happen, but anyway. It’s hard for me to dissect other people’s work in between.”