Arsenal to beat Manchester City to West Ham United transfer as Declan Rice pushes to complete move
Arsenal are still going to win the race to sign West Ham captain Declan Rice despite the arrival of Manchester City on the scene, according to Football Transfers.
After the Gunners had two bids rejected for the 24-year-old, the treble winners’ push to sign the Hammers star was expected to come next, amid the exit of Ilkay Gundogan to Barcelona.
But with Rice having already agreed personal terms for a move to the Emirates amid a preference to remain in London Arsenal are reportedly “still well in the driving seat” and the midfielder is “expected” to complete the transfer across the capital.
The Mirror have reported (24 June) that City don’t even want to make an official bid unless Rice makes clear that he would be open to moving to the Etihad, and Football Transfers report that he has not yet done so.
The West Ham captain is reportedly “pushing” to complete a move to the Emirates and the move is set to ultimately go through.
End of story?
Everything appears to be pointing to Arsenal from Rice’s point of view so from the outside it looks like it is their deal to lose.
But after two failed attempts they are going to need to come up with an offer that doesn’t leave the Irons frustrated, although if City are in fact not going to end up in the race properly then it takes the pressure off Mikel Arteta’s side.
The presence of both Manchester sides would have likely helped the Hammers get the price they want quicker, so whether the latest developments incentivise Arsenal to try another offer below nine figures will presumably become clear imminently.
Rice was widely expected to prefer a return to Chelsea until relatively recently, so it is probably not impossible that he could be convinced to play somewhere other than the Emirates next season.
If they come up with the money in the coming days it seems that will end the long wait for an answer on the West Ham skippers’ future.
For now the third Arsenal bid has the potential to be the decisive one, but should it again be below what the Irons are expecting a stalemate might push Rice to reconsider his options.
In other West Ham news, another starter is for sale this summer that could leave a gaping hole once Rice leaves as well.