West Ham captain Declan Rice ‘wants to join Arsenal’ during the summer transfer window, despite the Gunners having a second bid of £90 million rejected.
This was the second bid to be rejected by West Ham for their captain, with the east London side holding out for close to £100 million. The structure of this second bid is said to be £75 million + £15 million in add ons.
What we know so far about Rice
Speaking on the HaytersTV podcast, Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth confirmed the latest bid for Rice would ‘represent an obliteration of their club transfer record,’ which was £72 million for Nicholas Pepe in 2019.
Sheth also said at the time it was ‘unlikely’ that this second bid would be accepted by West Ham, with confirmation of the rejection coming through later in the day.
Despite the rejected bids, Arsenal look as if they will be the club that Rice will be playing for come the start of next season, with Sheth telling the podcast that north London is the place the midfielder wants to be.
“All of the noise we’re getting is Declan Rice wants to make that move to Arsenal,” Sheth said. “That can sometimes influence the price [of the player] as well. If nobody else comes in with a bid, it becomes very difficult for the selling club to use a bidding war between other clubs.
“If a player is set on going to a club, and the club through David Sullivan straight after the Europa Conference League final publicly stating that he [Rice] has probably played his last game for the club, those ingredients can sometimes work in the favour of the buying club.”
With Rice still a priority target for Mikel Arteta’s side, it remains to be seen how far the Gunners push this deal, and whether West Ham buckle to the player’s wishes.
