By Anthony Onifade

25th May, 2023 | 8:40am

Arsenal submit £69.6m bid to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United

Arsenal have submitted an €80million (£69.6m) bid for West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice ahead of the summer window, according to Sky Sports Germany.

The Hammers club captain looks set to leave West Ham this summer in search of Champions League football and Arsenal have been earmarked as the favourites to sign him.

Bayern Munich, Manchester United, City, Liverpool and Chelsea have all emerged as strong potential suitors for their star players this summer, and are believed to be holding out for a fee of £100m-plus for his services [Daily Mail, 11 May].

And according to Sky Sports Germany reporting on their live blog [24 May, 16:14pm], the Gunners have already made an opening offer of Arsenal have submitted an €80million (£69m) to West Ham United which should be rejected out of hand by the Hammers.

They also reveal that talks have already taken place between the player’s advisers and Bayern Munich.

“According to Sky information, the English national player was discussed internally in detail, and there was already an exchange between FC Bayern and Rice’s advisors.

“The problem: West Ham United is flirting with a very high transfer fee, Arsenal have already made an offer of around 80 million euros – too much for Munich. Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC are also interested in Rice”, Sky Germany reveals.

Insult

Interest in Rice is certainly rife right now, with Bayern Munich the latest club to be joining the hunt and how the West Ham United faithful would love to see the England international move on abroad rather than any of their capital rivals.

However, the Hammers bosses won’t be happy one bit about this £69.6m bid for Rice when Arsenal know he costs well above that figure, which is certainly an insult to the club and also to the player.

Also despite Fabrizio Romano reporting that both clubs won’t be entering into talks until June, it seems as though the Gunners are jumping the gun a bit as they know several other top clubs are now placing their interest.

The 24-year-old has become an international superstar and has emerged as one of the best of his position on the continent so the increasing interest in his services is inevitable.

Rice is certainly a £100m-plus player, especially if his English counterpart Jude Bellingham is said to be moving to Real Madrid for a similar fee.

Given Rice’s desire to leave the London Stadium, West Ham United must ensure they aren’t bullied into making a quick and cheaper-than-expected sale.

Arsenal seem unwilling to pay the £100-£120m amount [The Sun, 10 May] but that’s the going rate of world-class midfield operators these days and it certainly seems reasonable from the West Ham United perspective.