Arsenal will submit an improved third offer for Declan Rice ‘soon’ after West Ham rejected Manchester City’s £90m offer for the midfielder, according to renowned transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
The North Londoners are keen on bolstering their midfield and Rice is top of their transfer wish-list this summer. The England international has been linked with a move to Emirates Stadium for several weeks but Man City want to gatecrash Arsenal’s move.
News broke on Monday night that City had tabled an opening offer for Rice worth £80m plus £10m in add-ons making the entire deal worth up to £90m. This was the same total figure as Arsenal’s last offer, which was £75m plus £15m in add-ons, but the payment structure offered by City was reportedly more favourable.
Man City have lost Ilkay Gundogan to Barcelona after the 32-year-old opted not to extend his contract, leaving England as a free agent this summer. They have agreed a deal with Chelsea for Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic, but they are still keen on signing another midfielder with Rice firmly on their radar.
However, Romano claims that West Ham have rejected Man City’s bid and insist they want £100m for their skipper. The Italian journalist says Arsenal will now respond with a third proposal having already seen two bids rejected.
Romano claims Arsenal’s next offer is expected to go in ‘soon’. It remains to be seen what figure they will put forward this time, but it’s likely to be a lot closer to West Ham’s £100m valuation.
Battle for Rice
Mikel Arteta’s lack of squad depth was a major issue last season as Arsenal simply couldn’t cope when some key players picked up injuries or lost form during the title run-in.
The Spaniard wants to be in a better position next time around, hence the need to bring in reinforcements, especially in the middle of the park. Granit Xhaka is set to join Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth £13m while Thomas Partey is also being strongly linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium.
The likes of Moises Caicedo, Mason Mount, Martin Zubimendi, Romeo Lavia, and Orkun Kokcu have been linked with a move to Arsenal but the club’s priority is to get the Rice deal done as soon as possible.
We’ll have to wait and see what Arsenal’s next move is but it looks like they are in a real battle with Man City to sign Rice this summer. It’s going to be fascinating to see where he ends up.
