Some Chelsea fans may have been left scratching their heads at reports suggesting that manager Frank Lampard wants to sign West Ham’s Declan Rice to play at centre-back.

The England international has rarely played the position at senior level with the vast majority of his playing time for the Hammers coming as a defensive midfielder.

However, Rice did come through the youth system at both Chelsea and West Ham as a centre-half and Lampard has clearly seen something that has persuaded him that he could shore up the Blues’ leaky defence.

It will still be a risk, though, considering the need to fix a key area which has been holding the team back this season. So what is the thinking behind targeting Rice? We take a look at four possible reasons.