John Terry would love to see Declan Rice back at Chelsea and believes the player will have ‘a decision to make’ about his future this summer – unless West Ham invest heavily in their team.
The England international has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best midfielders, leading to links with Chelsea and Manchester United.
West Ham are believed to have slapped a £150m price tag on him – which would be a British record transfer fee – though manager David Moyes suggested that even that sum would not be enough to land the player.
Rice was released from Chelsea’s academy and is from a family of big Blues fans, having idolised Terry while growing up when he was still playing as a central defender.
The duo have remained in contact since Rice left Stamford Bridge and Terry now feels he is approaching a potential crossroads in his career and should consider leaving West Ham if the club’s ambition does not meet his own.
Asked if he might give Rice a little nudge about returning to Chelsea, Terry told Astro SuperSport: ‘I’m going to get in trouble here for what I say!
‘You know what, Dec obviously loves Chelsea – I think everyone knows that. ‘I think the rejection he had from Chelsea has really helped his career actually. What he’s done at West Ham is pretty much incredible.
‘We saw in the FA Cup [against Kidderminster Harriers in February] when he came on and scored, and again grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck.
‘I think from Dec’s side of things, I think he’s given everything to West Ham.
‘And for me, looking from the outside, unless West Ham go and make a big statement in the summer and go and spend £100million plus and say, “We want to keep Dec and we want to bring in top players like you”, then I think he’s got a decision to make.
‘I think if West Ham go and spend huge amounts of money, bring in top players, then I think it’s difficult for him to walk away.’
Asked if Rice would be a great addition to the Chelsea team, Terry simply nodded his head in agreement and said: ‘Incredible.’
