Enzo Fernandez has spoken of his admiration for Declan Rice, but a summer move will not come cheap if Chelsea want to unite the two midfielders.
Argentine World Cup star Fernandez completed a move to Stamford Bridge on transfer deadline day, with the Blues parting ways with a British record transfer fee of £105m. The midfielder has taken the number five shirt vacated by Jorginho and made his debut on Friday in the goalless draw with Fulham.
With N'Golo Kante out of contract in the summer, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly could find himself dipping into the transfer market once more in the summer for midfield reinforcements. Rice has long been linked with a return to the club where he spent some of his youth career before joining current club West Ham, and the Blues' newest recruit is a fan.
"I try to watch as much football and learn a little bit from everyone," Fernandez said in an interview during the World Cup. "I like Rice of England, I try to watch him and learn."
Rice, who turned 24 in January, left Chelsea as a 15-year-old and moved across London to join West Ham. The England international has played more than 200 times for the Hammers, taking the captain's armband on a full-time basis after Mark Noble's retirement in 2022, and represented England at Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.
West Ham manager David Moyes has regularly insisted it would take a huge fee to land the skipper, with Arsenal also reportedly in the running. However, based on comments made by Rice this season, a summer move would not be a huge surprise.
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"Yeah - one hundred per cent I want to play in the Champions League," Rice admitted during the World Cup, having fallen short of qualification last season when West Ham lost in the Europa League semi-finals. "For the last two or three years I've been saying that.
"I've been playing consistently well for my club and I feel like I really want to keep pushing. I see my friends here [with England at the World Cup in Qatar ], who are playing Champions League and competing for big trophies.
"You only get one career and at the end of it you want to look back at what you've won and the biggest games you've played in. I really want to do that."
The West Ham man impressed over the weekend, leading by example as Moyes' team recovered from conceding early on to claim a point at Newcastle. The subject of Rice's future was raised again after the draw, with the former Man Utd manager suggesting a fee higher than the £105m for Fernandez might be needed.
“Undoubtedly Declan is going to be a top player," Moyes said after the trip to St James' Park. "Undoubtedly he’ll be a British transfer record if he ever leaves West Ham.
“I hope it’s not [inevitable that he leaves], I hope he sees his time here. But look, there’s a lot of talk about it and when you see what’s going about for the prices, I think Dec will be blowing [the British record] out of the water, that’s for sure, when it comes around.”
