West Ham targeting Tammy Abraham, Declan Rice not off the Chelsea agenda yet

As unlikely as swap deals are, this one could make some sense

Tammy Abraham’s Chelsea future is in real doubt this summer, as our insider Dan McCarthy explained last week.

The England international is fearful over more big potential attacking reinforcements arriving at Stamford Bridge this season, and he is also some way off with the wages that are being offered to him.

We understand that further to this, West Ham United are showing a strong interest in signing Abraham this summer.

It is an area they are looking to bolster and sign a main man up top, which is exactly what Abraham wants to be.

I certainly don’t see this as a hugely unlikely move.

We also know that Chelsea want to sign a new defensive midfielder, and they are still closely monitoring the performances of Declan Rice this season, who is continuing to impress the Chelsea scouts and decision makers.

They were reluctant to sign him last summer due to the price being quoted to them (over £85 million), and he was also Frank Lampard’s priority target rather than the club, who also held reservations due to having let Rice go as a Chelsea academy player and some improvements they feel he needed to make.

But his name is certainly far from being off the agenda at Chelsea right now, and a strong end to the season and a good Euros could see The Blues reignite their interest in the midfielder.

That is information we have been told - for the disclaimer… THIS next bit is speculation….

If Rice decides to ask to leave West Ham, and providing Chelsea get Champions League football and the Hammers do not, I could see the two clubs working on a deal that would involve Abraham making the short journey to The London Stadium, and Rice returning to Chelsea.

Pure speculation from me that bit of course.

Written by Simon Phillips (@siphillipssport)