Arsenal will break the transfer fee record between Premier League clubs should Declan Rice complete a £105m move from London rivals West Ham.
The Gunners have had a £100m bid along with £5m in add-ons accepted for the England midfielder and are now working on finalising a deal.
Should it go through, the total possible fee will trump the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish when he moved to the club from Aston Villa two years ago.
The hefty price tag will come with considerable pressure on Rice should he complete a move to last season’s Premier League runners-up, and as history has told us, big money deals between Premier League clubs don’t always work out.
Here’s the top five most expensive transfers between Premier League clubs, and how they’ve worked out…
Jack Grealish to Man City – £100m
Grealish’s move from his boyhood club Aston Villa to Manchester City in 2021 still holds the record transfer fee for a player moving between two English clubs. Grealish endured a difficult first season at City despite winning the Premier League, and the hefty price tag behind him heaped even more pressure on the England international. But the 27-year-old has thrived this season, helping City to win a historic treble with some fine individual performances and looks to be worth every penny of the £100m the club spent despite the initial doubts.
Harry Maguire to Manchester United – £80m
Embed from Getty ImagesHarry Maguire’s £80m move from Leicester City to Manchester United back in 2019 certainly raised a few eyebrows. The defender had impressed with England during the 2018 World Cup and under Brendan Rodgers at Leicester but United had to break the bank to persuade the Foxes to part ways with Maguire. The defender’s time at the Red Devils has not gone the way he would have hoped, struggling for form at times and finding himself way down the pecking order in central defence this past season. He probably needs a move away from United to reboot his career after a difficult few years at Old Trafford in which he has failed to live up to his price tag.
Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United – £75m
Embed from Getty ImagesManchester United again feature on the list with their purchase of striker Romelu Lukaku from Everton for £75m. Lukaku had enjoyed some fine form at the Toffees and managed a respectable 27 goals in all competitions in his first season at United, 16 of which came in the Premier League. But Lukaku struggled in his next season with the club, scoring just 15 times in 45 games in all competitions and left the club for Inter Milan having ultimately failed to live up to the expectations which came with his price tag.
Virgil Van Dijk to Liverpool – £75m
Embed from Getty ImagesMuch like Maguire’s move to Manchester United, when Virgil Van Dijk moved to Liverpool in 2017 for a whopping £75m there were certainly more than a few who questioned whether he was worth that amount of money. But fast forward to 2023 and Van Dijk has gone down as one of the club’s best ever signings, helping the Reds to win the Premier League and Champions League with his dominant performances in the middle of defence. He has established himself as one of the best defenders in the world at Liverpool and failed to let the pressure of his enormous price tag impact him.
Wesley Fofana to Chelsea – £75m
Embed from Getty ImagesAmong the most notable signings in Chelsea’s massive spending spree under their new owners was Wesley Fofana from Leicester. Having sold another central defender in Maguire for big money previously, the Foxes again cashed in by selling the French youngster for £75m. The Blues endured a miserable first season under their new owners by finishing 12th, though Fofana managed just 15 Premier League appearances due to injury. There’s likely much more to come from Fofana, and it’s too early to judge whether this is a successful signing or not.
