West Ham United fury emerges over ‘surprising’ Arsenal moves as third Declan Rice transfer offer is readied
West Ham are reportedly “fuming” with Arsenal after another bid was tabled for Declan Rice short of the asking price, according to 90min.
A second offer for the Hammers captain arrived from the Emirates on Tuesday (20 June), totalling £90million with £15million in bonuses included payable over five years, which was again quickly rejected for being short of the £100million-plus valuation at the London Stadium.
The Guardian reported the same day that the Gunners had been led to believe £80million would land the 24-year-old but the price had “risen dramatically” in the wake of lifting the Europa Conference League trophy, yet Irons sources apparently remain as unimpressed with the latest bid as they were the first.
According to 90min on Tuesday: “Sources have told 90min that West Ham are fuming with the latest offer put forward for Rice and have no intention of accepting, with a third bid already being prepared by Arsenal, whose approach so far is surprising given they had previously indicated to West Ham in talks that they would pay their asking price.”
Disconnect
Evidently there is some distance between the two sides of this transfer, both on the price and the messages coming out.
For months now West Ham have communicated publicly that they wanted north of £100million to sell Rice, with David Moyes speaking about a British record deal [Independent, 4 February] – Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea cost £106.8million in January – and a fee as high as £120million mooted [Sky Sports, 10 May].
At the same time there have been suggestions during the season that the Irons could be forced to settle for as little as £70million [Telegraph, 22 November].
It certainly seems like recent factors have strengthened the resolve at West Ham to hold out for what they have always believed their star player is worth.
Success generally makes it easier to demand more money, so the stark difference between wallowing near the relegation zone for much of the year with a manager who appeared on the brink of the sack to then capping the campaign with a first major European trophy in over half a century must have played a part.
At the same time, Jude Bellingham has now moved for a deal that cost Real Madrid £88.5million up front, possibly rising to £115million [Sky Sports, 14 June] and Ruben Neves’ “staggering” £47million move to Saudi Arabia [Telegraph, 18 June] has shown the strength of the market for midfielders.
With effectively two years left on his contract at West Ham, 42 international caps and over 200 Premier League appearances, it certainly looks like the Irons feel confident in their asking price, so whether that wavers or Arsenal improve their bids is the crucial question.