With rumours that Chelsea are about to step up their efforts to sign Declan Rice, West Ham could try and take some Blues as part of the deal.
The loss of Declan Rice would rattle West Ham and its fans to the bone, but there could be some positives to the star players sale. Chelsea have already spent a fortune this summer and could be forced to offer some of their fringe players as part-exchange for Rice.
The players Chelsea will offer maybe their fringe players, but should they make a move to the London Stadium they could be solid first-team players.
Fikayo Tomori
David Moyes has been chasing a new centre-back for the whole transfer window. The Scot has failed with a move for Burnley’s James Tarkowski and has an interest in Swansea’s Joe Rodon and St Etienne’s Wesley Fofana.
Moves for those two defenders at the moment could not go anywhere and therefore getting Fikayo Tomori from Chelsea could solve a significant problem. West Ham have identified the central defence as the main area that they want to strengthen, and Tomori could be the man to fill that gap.
Still only 22-years-old, Tomori has the whole of his career ahead of him and could become a vital member of the Hammers defence for the foreseeable future. West Ham would have to make sure that Tomori’s arrival was a permanent one and not only a loan.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
The box-to-box midfielder will see his opportunities greatly affected should Chelsea sign Rice to play in midfield. This reduction in opportunities could pave the way for him to move to West Ham as part of the deal for Rice.
The Hammers will need to sign a midfielder to fill the hole that will be left by Rice, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek would not be a terrible replacement. The Englishman is still only 24-years-old and can contribute defensively and at the other end of the pitch.
In the 2018/19 season, Loftus-Cheek scored ten goals and assisted five more in the Premier League and Europa League. There was hope among Chelsea fans that he would build on this record for last season, but his 2019/20 season was wrecked by injury.
Now the 24-year-old is fully-fit again, West Ham could take advantage of Chelsea’s interest in Rice and bring in a top box-to-box midfielder to play alongside Tomas Soucek.
Tammy Abraham
This one may be a bit of a push after the great season Tammy Abraham had last season. The English striker scored eighteen goals and provided five assists in the Premier League and Champions League respectively.
The record Abraham has is precisely the return West Ham have been hoping their striker hunt would have returned. The club has signed countless strikers from Andy Carroll to Simone Zaza and now Sebastien Haller, spending a fortune in the process.
Haller only scored seven goals in the Premier League last season and despite scoring four goals in two League Cup matches, does not seem to be able to displace Michail Antonio in the starting eleven in the Premier League.
Abraham would boost West Ham’s attacking options by no end, and he could potentially be available. The Blues has Olivier Giroud, Christian Pulisic and new signing Timo Werner all competing for the striker position, meaning Abraham’s playing time this season could suffer at Stamford Bridge.
If West Ham does sell Declan Rice then, of course, it would be heartbreaking for many reasons. But if these three blues changes their colours and the club receives some money on top, it could benefit the Hammers in the long-term.