West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice has confessed that he would love to play alongside best friend Mason Mount at club level again, with Chelsea rumoured to be keen on the Englishman.
Mount and Rice played together during Chelsea's academy, only for the latter to be released in 2014. However, after blossoming into a regular starter for West Ham United, the Blues have been tipped to bring Rice back to Stamford Bridge.
Speaking to Copa90 alongside Mount, Rice confessed that the pair have always dreamed of playing alongside each other for club and country.
“Yeah I’d love to, I’d love to play with him at club level again," Rice revealed.
“But obviously you never know because of different paths and things like that.”
The pair first met at Under-8 level at Chelsea when Rice joined the academy, and they have since remained close and their relationship has regularly made the headlines in recent years, but not always for the best reasons.
Mount's perfect prank on Rice during a holiday last summer made for one of the funniest clips around, but the pair also attracted plenty of criticism in March after being seen breaching lockdown rules to go for a kick-about.
They have been tipped to link up once more this summer, with Chelsea said to be 'admirers' of Rice. Frank Lampard is said to be on the lookout for a new defensive midfielder, and Rice appears to fit the bill.
Chelsea may turn to Rice if N'Golo Kanté leaves the club. A source has confirmed to 90min that the Blues would not be against selling the World Cup winner if the right offer arrived, with Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain both considering bids.
The Blues are still happy with Kanté and are in no rush to sell, but they are aware that he is now 29 years old and would likely command still a hefty fee, which would go a long way to helping with their squad rebuild. With so many young midfielders breaking through at the Bridge, keeping Kanté is not as important as it once was.
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Source : 90min