Chelsea centre-back Fikayo Tomori may well be the surprise casualty if the Blues manage to secure the signing of West Ham’s Declan Rice, according to The Athletic‘s Chelsea correspondent Simon Johnson.

The former Evening Standard reporter claims Tomori could be loaned out once again next season, although manager Frank Lampard is said to be keen not to sell him outright.

During the second half of the campaign, Tomori has struggled for game time, with injuries having also limited his availability. Even when fit, though, he has been behind Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma and Antonio Rudiger in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge.

With reports over the past week linking Chelsea with a £45m bid for Rice, he could well be only the fifth choice centre-half at the start of next season.

Tomori will be hoping to prove himself to Lampard once more before the end of this campaign. The 22-year-old has been sidelined with a hamstring injury but he is now back available and will be in contention to play Sheffield United on Saturday.