Arsenal are leading Manchester United in the race to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice and hope to close a £90m deal this summer, as per Evening Standard.
The 24-year-old midfielder is likely to leave the Hammers, but it will require a massive transfer fee to lure him away. The Standard claims that the Hammers have set an asking price of £120million for their skipper and they want the bulk of the money to be paid upfront.
Manchester United and Bayern Munich are also keen to sign Rice, but the report says Arsenal are leading the race to land the England international. As per the newspaper, the Gunners are expected to make a formal move for Rice in the coming days and they hope to strike a deal close to £90m.
This will make Rice their club-record signing. The Standard says that while agreeing personal terms with the player won’t be a big issue for the Gunners, sorting out the structure of a fee with West Ham remains a major challenge.
Jude Bellingham as benchmark
The Hammers are using Bellingham as a benchmark while negotiating a deal for Rice. The 19-year-old England midfielder is commanding a fee of £115m, but Real Madrid have agreed to pay £88.5m of that upfront.
Signing Rice is a priority for Arsenal this summer and they have to be very patient here. Rice will not take part in their pre-season tour to Australia at the start of July which means he will get time to sort out his move away from the London Stadium.
Man United are also in the race for Rice’s signature but doubts remain about whether they can come up with a huge money offer for the midfielder. Erik ten Hag wants to sign a top striker for the club this summer, while they need to sign a top-class defender as well.
If Arsenal manage to sign Rice, it will surely pave the way for the departure of Granit Xhaka. The midfielder has been linked with a move to Bayer Leverkusen, but the Gunners do not want to sell him unless they have a replacement secured.
