Arsenal will now pay £120m plus add-ons to sign West Ham United star Declan Rice – Sky Sports journalist
Declan Rice’s transfer from West Ham United will be finalized on Friday (14 July), with the total package of the deal up to £120m with possible add-ons, according to Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg.
Arsenal and West Ham United reached a full agreement over the £105 million transfer of Declan Rice over a week ago and it was reported that the Hammers were growing frustrated with how long the deal was taking.
However, according to Plettenberg, taking to his personal Twitter account (14 July), the transfer will be finally 100% finalized on Friday with the Gunners set to make an announcement of the whopping summer deal.
Plettenberg wrote: “Declan Rice & Arsenal, the transfer will be finalized today! Last paperwork’s are ready to sign. It will be 100 % done this Friday.
“Rice, he’s a new player of Arsenal today!
“Understand it’s a package of up to £120m with possible add-ons included.
Finally sealed
The West Ham United frustration at the delay was perfectly understandable given the club desperately wanted to move on from Rice, respectfully, and seek to replacement quickly in the coming weeks.
With the season now just a month away, David Moyes and the club now have four weeks to ensure that the squad is ready and well-placed to kick off their season in the right tone.
And to not see Rice in a Hammers shirt again will be very weird but congratulations to the England international in finally sealing his long-awaited move to the Gunners with this saga now coming to its conclusion.
West Ham United face a huge task replacing the midfield now and Moyes may well be tempted to add two or three midfielders to his ranks, especially with Rice’s partner Tomas Soucek also looking likely to leave.
Can the Hammers get much of their business done over the next few weeks? It’s incredibly difficult to predict, but this ongoing Rice saga has definitely thrown a spanner in the works. Thankfully, it’s all now completed.
In other West Ham news, Sky Sports share positive West Ham talks to seal new defensive transfer