Journalist Charles Watts has claimed that Declan Rice may no longer be keen on a transfer to Chelsea for three key reasons amid talk of a summer move.

What’s the latest on Declan Rice to Chelsea?

It's no secret that the Englishman is likely going to leave this summer, and a number of top Premier League clubs look to be in the race to land his signature.

Among those are Chelsea – the club Rice played for as a youngster before leaving when he was 14 years of age. He is known to be good friends with Mason Mount, but his England teammate may be leaving this summer amid contract issues and links to Liverpool.

If the West Ham United star does leave, he will surely do so for a Champions League club, with the 23-year-old previously stating that's the level he wants to be playing at

While talking about all this on his YouTube channel, Arsenal correspondent Watts explained why a move to Chelsea may longer be quite so "appealing" to Rice as it once was.

He said: "It's looking very unlikely – unless they go on and win it – they're going to be able to offer Champions League football, which is one of the big reasons that Declan Rice wants to leave West Ham now.

"We're not sure if Mason Mount's going to stay at Chelsea. He's obviously Declan Rice's really, really good mate. If he leaves, maybe that will stop [making] Chelsea quite so attractive to him.

"Whether he'd be willing to accept an eight-year contract as well – while that's appealing to some, it's certainly not appealing to others.

"So there's lots of reasons why potentially Chelsea isn't looking anywhere near as likely when it comes to Declan Rice as it did just a year ago."

Why would Declan Rice not want a Chelsea transfer?

Watts certainly is right on one front. Chelsea currently sit 10th in the Premier League with just 11 games to play. If they want to finish in the top four, they'll need to close the 11-point gap between them and the last Champions League spot with some incredible displays.

According to reports, Rice currently earns around £60,000 per week, but that will surely increase dramatically if he is to leave the Hammers in what could be a deal worth more than £100m.

Todd Boehly may well have that sort of money, and if he was to land the Englishman, he'd quite likely want to tie him to a long-term contract judging by the Blues' recent activity in that regard. However, that's been an issue with Mount – who supposedly doesn't want to commit to the club amid talk of a deal up for as much as eight years being tabled, and so Rice may feel equally hesitant.

Consequently, with no Champions League football, Mount, or a reasonable contract offer waiting for him at Chelsea, perhaps the 23-year-old will end up elsewhere.