Chelsea have certainly won the competition for having the best summer transfer window.

It doesn't matter what happens in the next few weeks, that plaudit belongs to the west Londoners.

Despite facing a transfer ban, the Blues were able to secure a top four finish in Frank Lampard's first season in charge of the club.

But this term they are aiming much higher.

Chelsea have already spent over £200million on new signings this summer, the most of any club in the Premier League.

That includes deals for Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Kai Havertz.

The hope is that those signings will help the club to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title.

But that doesn't mean that they are done spending.

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One player who the club continue to be linked with is Declan Rice.

The West Ham star started his youth career in west London before moving to the east end with the Hammers.

Valued at £44.55million by Transfermarkt, a deal for the England international would not be cheap to do, but thankfully Chelsea have a plan.

The Express are reporting that Chelsea could look to offer Emerson Palmieri as part of a deal to sign the midfielder.

West Ham are keen to sign a left-back this summer and with the Italian international falling down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge he could be available for a move.

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It's claimed that the Hammers will demand around £80million if they're to sell Rice, however with Palmieri as part of the deal it could potentially make a deal more viable.

GIVEMESPORT'S Phil Spencer says...

A deal to sign Declan Rice would be huge for Chelsea.

Described as 'a real talent' by David Moyes, the midfielder has established himself as one of the top performers outside of the top six.

That said, there's still plenty of room for improvement.

Rice would undoubtedly kick on if he was to join Frank Lampard's squad, and that means that a deal would be a great deal for Chelsea.

However the asking price being discussed is astronomical.

£80million is a lot of money, and while Rice would improve Chelsea's squad I'm not sure that he will make enough of an impact to justify the fee.

If Emerson Palmieri can be included in the deal, then perhaps that is what is needed to make the move viable.