Why Chelsea decided against signing Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice this summer as transfer 'rule' confirmed

The reason why Chelsea decided against signing Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice was due to a very specific transfer 'rule'.

Rice was the subject of mass transfer speculation over the summer, with a number of Premier League clubs keen on signing the midfielder from West Ham.

Chelsea were thought to be long-term admirers of the 24-year-old, who was previously part of their academy as a youngster before joining the Hammers.

In the end, though, Arsenal prevailed, fending off interest from Manchester City and signing the 24-year-old for a then- British record transfer fee of £105 million.

That price was later eclipsed by Moises Caicedo's £115 million move to Chelsea from Brighton, and it has since been revealed why the Blues targeted the Ecuador international instead of Rice.

According to The Telegraph, Chelsea's co-owner Behdad Eghbali and sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, set a 25-and-under rule on any players coming into the club in order to build a squad which would be around for the next decade.

The rule meant players such as James Maddison and James Ward-Prowse, who have hit the ground running at at Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United respectively, were never really an option for Maurico Pochettino.

While they also withdrew from the race to sign Rice, and paying what they believed to be an English premium placed on the midfielder, who had previously been a key target under former boss Graham Potter.

Instead, Chelsea splashed the cash on 21-year-old Cole Palmer and 19-year-old Romeo Lavia, while they broke the British record transfer fee for Caicedo.

The strategy could pay dividends in the long-term, although Chelsea have had a dreadful start to the new campaign, winning just one of their opening six Premier League games.

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