'Of course I would!' - What Declan Rice told Chelsea assistant manager when asked if he'd make Stamford Bridge return

Between 2019 to 2021, Morris served as Frank Lampard's assistant while he was the permanent manager. Although it is well known that Lampard wanted to sign Rice, who was cut from the Chelsea academy when he was 14 years old, Morris has now disclosed that the defensive midfielder he was also open to the return. Morris revealed the story speaking to William Hill and Footy Accumulators’ No Tippy Tappy Football.

Speaking on No Tippy Tappy Football, Morris said: “I was always on Frank Lampard’s case saying how unbelievable Rice would be for us when N’Golo Kante kept getting injured and he wasn’t sure at first, but a month later he was all over him! So, we reached out to Declan on whether he’d want to come back and he said, “I’m a Chelsea fan, of course I would!”, and from then on Lampard was speaking to him and the upstairs members at the club were talking to his parents. In the end, it got put on the backburner in favour of a couple of other signings.

“I didn’t end up going through, but at the time they were quoting around £60-65 million so that would’ve been a steal for someone who could have easily been at the club for 10 years. For me, Rice is top-drawer and I’m so excited about the England midfield we have at the minute. Rice has shown his worth in an England shirt and for West Ham and now at Arsenal with a better team and he’s performing week in week out.”

In the summer of 2023, Rice ended up joining Chelsea's city rivals, Arsenal. Since his £105 million ($132.3m) move across London to the Emirates, Rice has immediately become a major player for the Gunners as they currently sit third in the league just two points off the top. Meanwhile, Chelsea have just skirted between the top half and bottom half of the Premier League under Mauricio Pochettino.

The England international is now enjoying life with the Gunners and will next be in action when Arsenal take on his former side, West Ham at London Stadium on Sunday, February 11. Chelsea, meanwhile, play Crystal Palace on Monday, February 12.