Why Chelsea did not sign £105m Declan Rice ahead of Arsenal before going on to pay £115m for Moises Caicedo

Chelsea reportedly gave Arsenal a free run at £105 million ($128m) Declan Rice as they considered that transfer fee to include an English premium.

The Blues had been heavily linked with the England international midfielder for some time heading into the summer window of 2023. Having previously had Rice within their academy system, the expectation was that efforts would be made to take him back to Stamford Bridge.

That did not happen, with Arsenal instead completing a club-record deal with London neighbours West Ham. According to The Telegraph, Chelsea did not make an approach as they thought Rice’s asking price was being over-inflated – as is often the case with English players moving between Premier League clubs.

Chelsea also passed up opportunities to table bids for James Maddison and James Ward-Prowse, as they prepared to head for the exits at relegated Leicester and Southampton respectively. The Blues ended up spending more on Cole Palmer than Tottenham paid for Maddison and £20m ($24m) more on 19-year-old Romeo Lavia than West Ham splashed out on Ward-Prowse.

Questions continue to be asked of Chelsea’s elaborate spending – which has passed £1 billion ($1.2bn) across three windows – with their decision to pass on Rice made all the more confusing by the fact that they went on to invest £115m ($140m) in prising Moises Caicedo away from another domestic rival in the form of Brighton.