West Ham United asking price for Declan Rice rises ‘dramatically’ as Arsenal fail with second transfer offer
Declan Rice’s asking price has “risen dramatically” after West Ham won the Europa Conference League, according to Jacob Steinberg and Fabrizio Romano in The Guardian.
Arsenal have failed with a new club-record bid for the 24-year-old on Tuesday (20 June), with their £90million offer amounting to £75million up front and £15million more in bonuses.
It is the second time Mikel Arteta’s side have come up short, with the Irons now reportedly holding out for “at least” £100million to sell their captain.
But it appears, rather than lowballing West Ham, Arsenal believed the size of their offers was going to be sufficient prior to the European triumph on 7 June.
Steinberg and Romano report: “Part of Arsenal’s approach is down to being told initially that £80m would be enough to get Rice.
“However the price has risen dramatically since West Ham’s triumph in the Europa Conference League final and that has caused a delay.”
Premium
West Ham have publicly been after more than £100million for months, so unless they have been intimating something different privately it may be wishful thinking from people close to the deal that put the acceptable fee significantly below that.
The club may have felt their position wasn’t strong enough to get what they wanted heading towards the end of a season where they flirted with relegation for months.
But after lifting a first European trophy in decades, and with big money flowing around the transfer market for central midfielders, they appear confident now that they can hold out for a massive fee.
It is difficult to know exactly who has communicated what behind the scenes, and with a transfer as high-profile as this one there will be numerous people who have a vested interest, so it might become a matter of he-said, she-said.
If the West Ham stance has always been £100million-plus it will be frustrating to receive multiple bids below that number.
Equally, if the door was open for a cheaper deal until a fortnight ago it will be Arsenal who will be feeling the frustration.
But the trophy win changed the equation in a big way for David Moyes, so it logically would have an effect on transfer moves as well.
With Manchester City expected to make their own interest in Rice official with an offer this week it looks like now the price tag matches the public West Ham stance either way.
If Arsenal feel they have been misled it could push them to walk away, but with the Irons captain widely seen as their top target it would surely mean a significant change of plans to do so.