Rice has been voted the Player of the Year at West Ham after a solid season where he helped the Hammers to stay away from relegation.

 

The 21-year-old was in brilliant form towards the end of the campaign and was a solid presence in the middle of the park for David Moyes’ side.

 

 

Chelsea are interested in signing him, but Moyes has indicated that it could take a massive fee to wrestle the midfielder away from the Hammers this summer.

 

A fee in the region of £80m could be needed but Chelsea are in no mood to pay such a figure for the West Ham midfielder ahead of the new season.

 

 

But the Blues have not given up hope of signing Rice and still keen on the idea of taking him to Stamford Bridge this summer.

 

Chelsea have high hopes of getting something done and are confident of convincing Rice, who they released from their academy when he was 14, to return to the club.

 

 

They believe the lure of Champions League football could be a key bargaining chip in the negotiations.

 

West Ham want to hold on to the midfielder and are expected to make it as difficult as possible for Chelsea to sign their player.