Declan Rice given permission for Arsenal medical after ‘full agreement’ reached in West Ham United talks – David Ornstein
Declan Rice is now set to go for his Arsenal medical after “full agreement” was reached in the talks with West Ham, David Ornstein reports in The Athletic.
The breakthrough finally emerged on Tuesday night (4 July) almost a full week after a £105million total fee was agreed following Manchester City’s withdrawal from the race.
The length of time the final negotiations on payment structure and add-ons had been taking had given rise to the fear of an unlikely withdrawal from the talks altogether, although it was subsequently denied by Fabrizio Romano.
But Orstein now reports that a deal has been reached and Rice is set to head to Arsenal to “finalise personal terms” having been “given permission” to complete his medical.
Conclusion
It is the point that has seemingly been on its way for at least the past two years and West Ham will now embark on the post-Rice era with a load of money to spend.
The club and Hammers fans alike obviously didn’t ever want to see him go but it had become increasingly inevitable and getting the £100m-plus fee they wanted after having Rice lift the first major trophy in over 40 years as his final act in an Irons shirt is a pretty reasonable way for it to come about.
It always seemed likely that having got as far as the two sides had they weren’t going to let the deal collapse now, especially with the rest of the West Ham transfer window tied up in this move, and Mikel Arteta’s plans for his side resting on Rice arriving.
Everyone more or less appears to be getting what they want out of the equation now, but obviously the 24-year-old is now set to move across London to become a city rival.
Attentions will now turn to who David Moyes brings in to fill the huge hole in the centre of midfield that Rice leaves behind.
Denis Zakaria appears to have been advancing towards an incoming move, while the likes of James Ward-Prowse and Amadou Onana are also thought to be in the manager’s sights.
In other West Ham news, a club chief now looks set to visit London to see if the Rice developments can open up another deal that has reached a roadblock.