Third time of asking, West Ham have reportedly agreed in principle to sign midfielder Declan Rice over to Arsenal. The Gunners beat out Man City, who wouldn’t enter a bidding race for the England international.
After several rounds of negotiation, ‘The Guardian’ reports that West Ham have finally accepted Arsenal’s proposal for captain Declan Rice. The Gunners submitted a third bid on Tuesday night, worth in total £105 million.
This was enough to see off rivals Man City, who had offered a £90 million take-it-or-leave-it offer for the England international, and would not be drawn into a bidding war. Now the English newspaper reports that all that’s left to iron out between the two London clubs is the structure of the payment.
This however doesn’t appear to be the sort of thing to cause the deal to fall through, so it looks clear that Rice will be making the move across to north London next season.
The England international will be joining Chelsea’s Kai Havertz, whose first interview with the Gunners was leaked on Wednesday, and it doesn’t look like these two will be the last to sign for the Premier League runners-up this summer. The club also has deals for Ajax’s Jurrien Timber and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia in the pipeline.
Rice’s move will not only be Arsenal’s most expensive ever transfer, smashing Nicolas Pepe’s £72 million move, but will beat out Jack Grealish’s move to Man City to make him the most expensive English player signed in the Premier League.
🚨 West Ham have just communicated to Arsenal that they’re accepting £100m plus £5m add-ons fee for Declan Rice.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 28, 2023
The two clubs remain in talks over deal structure & payment terms — as West Ham want £100m to be paid within 18 months.
Final discussions and then… done deal. pic.twitter.com/khKe5EgeFc