Arsenal now set to open talks over £90m Rice move
The Daily Mail report that Arsenal are set to open talks with West Ham United over Declan Rice, with the Gunners willing to break their transfer record to make a £90m move for the midfielder.
West Ham reportedly value Rice at £100m, which could make things difficult. Though it seems personal terms won’t be an issue, with Arsenal willing to offer £300,000-a-week.
Mikel Arteta is targeting players who can add more physicality to his side in the summer window, and Rice fits that profile.
Elsewhere, the Evening Standard claim West Ham will delay any talks over Rice’s future until after their season ends.
That will either be on May 28th, at the end of the Premier League campaign, or June 7th, if they make the Europa Conference League final. They’re 2-1 up against AZ Alkmaar after the first leg, but they travel away to Alkmaar next.
The Standard add that Arsenal remain the favourites for Rice, but they claim West Ham could ask for as much as £120m, even more than the Mail’s reported £100m valuation.
If it were simply down to agreeing on a fee with West Ham, you’d imagine the deal would get over the line eventually. Rice is clearly keen to come, and West Ham seem to have accepted he’s on the way out, so a compromise would appear likely.
The problem will come if another club comes in and offers to meet West Ham’s demands. In that case, the situation becomes much more complex.
Granit Xhaka, meanwhile, has agreed to leave Arsenal at the end of the season.
