West Ham United fear they could be forced to sell Declan Rice in the next transfer window amid interest from the midfielder’s former club Chelsea.

West Ham are preparing for an overhaul of the current squad and Rice is by far the club’s most valuable asset to raise funds.

That may alert Chelsea, who could consider trying to re-sign 21-year-old Rice and team him up with his close friend and former Chelsea youth colleague Mason Mount.

A return to Stamford Bridge would also no doubt appeal to England international Rice, although he has also attracted interest from Manchester United.

It remains to be seen whether or not Chelsea could match West Ham’s £70million valuation of Rice following the financial impact of the coronavirus.

But Chelsea have plenty of players who West Ham would be interested in taking as part of a cash-plus-player deal, including midfielder Ross Barkley who played for manager David Moyes at Everton.

Striker Michy Batshuayi is another Chelsea player who West Ham have previously shown plenty of interest in and the Belgian is expected to be made available.

Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard currently has Jorginho and N’Golo Kante as his two more defensive-minded midfielders, but both players have been linked with moves away.

Jorginho’s agent this month refused to rule out the possibility of a switch to Juventus, while Kante, who last month turned 29 and has struggled with injuries this season, continues to be linked with Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

Rice progressed into the England team thanks to his performances in midfield for West Ham, but he can also play in defence which could be attractive to Lampard.

Lampard has switched between a back four and a back three, which Rice could move back into, during his first season in charge of Chelsea.

While Rice would easily fetch the most money for West Ham, sources believe the club will listen to offers for virtually anybody in the next window.

The planned overhaul is part of Moyes’ desire to put together a younger, hungrier squad and he is prepared to do more shopping in the Championship following the January signing of Jarrod Bowen from Hull City.

Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and Issa Diop could all attract bids, while Jack Wilshere, who will only have a year remaining on his contract, and Carlos Sanchez are two players West Ham would like to move on.