Arsenal are set to table a £90m offer for West Ham captain Declan Rice in a move that will make the midfielder their record signing in the coming days, it has been reported.
The Gunners are keen to strengthen in midfield, and have long considered Rice their no.1 target in that position as Mikel Arteta looks to build a side capable of competing with Manchester City once more next season.
They are not alone in their admiration of the midfielder, with Bayern Munich and Manchester United both also keeping tabs on the situation, but it is believed that the groundwork put in by the club has made Arsenal firm favourites to complete a deal for Rice.
Now, following the end of West Ham’s season, which culminated in a European Cup as they defeated Fiorentina to lift the UEFA Conference League, the Gunners are expected to snap into action.
According to the Daily Mail, Rice ‘wants to stay in the Premier League this summer’, while Arsenal ‘will table a formal offer’ of around £90m in the coming days.
However, they add that West Ham ‘want any fee to be paid off in full inside the next two years’, which would mean a significant chunk of the transfer would have to be paid for up front, something that the Gunners may be wary of doing given the demand to strengthen in other positions this summer too.
“Look at the moment there’s a lot of speculation about my future”, he explained. “There is interest that’s out there but ultimately I’ve still got two years left at West Ham [one year plus option]. There hasn’t been nothing yet [offers]. Let’s wait and see, who knows.”
