West Ham have reportedly shortlisted Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher and Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips as potential replacements for Arsenal target Declan Rice.
Rice has rejected several contract offers and is expected to leave the Hammers at the end of the season.
Chelsea are long-time admirers of the England international and are expected to compete with Arsenal for his signature.
Manchester United and Liverpool are also reportedly interested in signing the Irons captain – who is expected to cost a fee in the region of £80million, despite the fact he will enter the final 12 months of his contract this summer.
West Ham are obviously reluctant to let their best player leave but are resigned to losing him and will try to receive the best fee possible.
Hammers boss David Moyes has previously said Rice is worth £150m and Chelsea’s £107m British record signing of Enzo Fernandez has given the London club belief they can sell the 24-year-old for a similar price.
Arsenal have made the signing of a new midfielder a top priority this summer and Rice is particularly desirable as he can effectively play as a defensive and box-to-box midfielder.
Thomas Partey’s injury record is concerning and while he has been excellent this season, Granit Xhaka is a player who Mikel Arteta should be looking to replace.
As someone who is a top ball carrier and an underrated finisher, Rice would be the ideal player for Xhaka’s role in Arteta’s midfield.
It was recently reported by Football Insider that Arsenal are ready to lodge a £100m bid for the West Ham skipper.
And now the Evening Standard have said West Ham are preparing to replace Rice.
The report states that the Hammers will ‘revive their interest’ in Rice’s England teammates Conor Gallagher and Kalvin Phillips.
The London outfit were interested in signing Phillips when he was at Leeds United.
However, the 27-year-old was feeling a lot more ambitious and joined Premier League champions Manchester City for around £45m last summer.
Phillips’ time at the Etihad has been bitterly disappointing, however, as he has struggled for game time with Rodri starring in Pep Guardiola’s midfield.
Gallagher, meanwhile, is also struggling for minutes in a poor Chelsea side.
There is lots of interest in the 23-year-old – who enjoyed a successful loan spell with Crystal Palace last season.
West Ham, Newcastle, Everton, Liverpool and Palace are among those interested in signing Gallagher.
It is claimed that Moyes’…
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