Arsenal have been laying down the groundwork on a deal to sign Rice for several months as he has been their top midfield target for this summer.
Liverpool and Manchester United are also interested but Arsenal have carried out more legwork and have been confident of getting a deal done to sign him.
But Bayern Munich are now emerging as serious contenders to sign Rice and there are now suggestions that Tuchel has already spoken with the West Ham captain.
And according to German daily Bild, the Bayern Munich manager indeed flew to London to hold talks with the midfielder’s camp.
It has been claimed that during his visit to the capital, the German held talks with Rice and his father over a potential deal.
The Bayern Munich boss has identified the West Ham star as a big target and the German champions are prepared to offer the expensive package required to sign him.
The Bavarians are now confident of beating Arsenal to the punch and signing Rice this summer.
Tuchel is personally driving Bayern Munich’s interest and has more leverage inside the club after leading them to win the league title on the final day of the season.
