Arsenal are set to step up their interest in West Ham midfielder Declan Rice by submitting an official bid this week, according to Football Insider.
The online news portal claims the North Londoners have reached a verbal agreement with the England international and will now follow up with an official bid for the midfielder in the coming days.
Arsenal’s top priority in the transfer window is to sign Rice despite also being favourites to complete a deal for Moises Caicedo ahead of Chelsea after having multiple bids rejected by Brighton in the January window.
Mike Arteta’s side have also entered the race to sign Manchester City ace Ilkay Gundogan, whose contract will expire this summer, but face stiff competition from Barcelona, and Bayern Munich. The Germany international has also received an offer from Saudi Arabia’s league.
The likes of Mason Mount, Martin Zubimendi, and Orkun Kokcu have also been linked with a move to Arsenal as Mikel Arteta looks to bring in quality players to bolster his squad after failing to win the Premier League title last season.
Arsenal are set to lose Granit Xhaka in the summer as he’s close to joining Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth £13m hence the club will need to reinforce their midfield department.
Official bid prepared
According to Football Insider, Arsenal will table a deal worth at least £90m for Rice as they look to complete a club-record transfer early in the window.
The 24-year-old has already said ‘yes ‘to the proposal put forward by Arteta’s side and wants to move to the Emirates Stadium as soon as possible.
Football Insider added that no official paperwork has been signed as yet but the two London clubs will sit down this week to try and get a deal done for Rice – who is entering the final year of his deal at the club, however, West Ham have the option of a 12-month extension.
The England midfielder led the Hammers to a 2-1 win over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final as David Moyes’ side ended their 43-year wait for a major trophy. He made a total appearance of 50, scored five goals, and registered five assists in all competitions for West Ham last season.
He has been at the club since 2014, having joined from Chelsea, and has gone on to rack up 245 appearances and made 28 goal contributions across all competitions.
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