Frank Lampard Reveals He Wanted Declan Rice to Captain Chelsea for a Decade
Frank Lampard has revealed he was desperate to sign Declan Rice during his first stint at Chelsea and believed the England midfielder could captain the Blues for a decade. Chelsea expressed interest in signing Rice during Lampard’s first spell in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat but a move failed to materialise. The Blues retained interest in Rice after Lampard’s sacking in 2021 but the West Ham captain has agreed to join Arsenal this summer in a deal worth more than £100m.
Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast, Lampard said: ‘Chelsea won the Champions League after I left and at that point you think, “what’s the next move for the team?” What was the recruitment at that point? Maybe some players left during that period, and maybe in terms of recruitment you wanted to bring in some players for the future.
‘When I was at Chelsea [during the first stint] I wanted to bring in Declan Rice. I was like, “this kid’s going to be the captain of Chelsea for the next 10 years.” But it didn’t happen.’
Rice spent almost a decade at West Ham after being released by Chelsea at the age of 15, making 245 appearances for the Hammers and helping the club win the Europa Conference League last season. The 24-year-old is now set to be unveiled as Arsenal’s record-signing and joins a Gunners side that finished as runners-up in the Premier League last term.
Lampard returned to Chelsea as interim managers towards the end of last season following Graham Potter’s sacking but the team’s struggles continued as they slumped to 12th in the Premier League. Mauricio Pochettino, the former Paris Saint-Germain, Tottenham and Southampton boss, arrived at Stamford Bridge last week after agreeing to become Chelsea’s sixth permanent manager since 2018.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are preparing to announce the signing of Ajax defender Jurrien Timber as well as Rice, having already completed a £65m move for Chelsea forward Kai Havertz. The Gunners begin the 2023-24 campaign on August 12 against Nottingham Forest, while Lampard’s former club Chelsea kick-start the season against Liverpool.
Frank Lampard’s admiration for Declan Rice is clear to see and it’s no surprise he wanted to bring him to Stamford Bridge. The 24-year-old is now set to join Arsenal in a deal worth more than £100m and it’s easy to see why Lampard was so keen on signing him. Rice has been a key player for West Ham over the past few seasons and he could be a real asset for Arsenal in their pursuit of silverware.
Mauricio Pochettino has taken over from Lampard at Chelsea and he will be hoping to bring success back to Stamford Bridge. The Blues have already signed Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen and they are expected to make more signings before the start of the new season. It remains to be seen if they will be able to challenge for honours this season but they certainly have the potential to do so.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have been busy in the transfer market as they look to build on their impressive second-place finish last season. They have already signed Havertz and are now close to completing deals for Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber. These two signings could be crucial if Arsenal are to challenge for honours this season and they will be hoping they can make an immediate impact when they join up with their new teammates.
It’s clear that Frank Lampard was a huge admirer of Declan Rice and it’s easy to see why. The 24-year-old has been one of the best midfielders in the Premier League over the past few seasons and he could be a real asset for Arsenal if he can continue his good form at the Emirates Stadium. It remains to be seen how he will fit into Mikel Arteta’s system but there is no doubt that he will be an important player for Arsenal this season.