West Ham United to hold further Arsenal talks today as Declan Rice 2025 snag emerges
West Ham United and Arsenal are holding further talks on Wednesday over the structure of the Gunners’ £105million bid for Declan Rice, according to The Daily Mail.
It’s believed the Hammers are yet to accept the proposal from the Premier League runners-up, with the board unhappy with the structure of the payments (Daily Mail, 28 June).
Talks over reaching a “middle ground” are set to continue on Wednesday with Arsenal “desperate” to land the 24-year-old.
The main snag is centred around the fact that Arsenal want to pay the fee over a five-year period, with the Hammers wanting a guaranteed portion paid by the start of 2025, preferably in two instalments.
Iron it out
The final details appear to be being ironed out between the two clubs.
For West Ham and David Sullivan, he must ensure the club land a big upfront fee for their star man. Instalment payments are common practice in the modern game, but the Hammers need funds to play with during the summer window.
At least two midfielders, a striker and an attacking midfielder are required to give David Moyes the best chance of improving the squad heading into what will once again be an extremely testing season.
With European football once again on the agenda, a bid squad will be needed to help West Ham improve upon their Premier League finish and make a decent fist of it in Europe.
The sooner this saga is resolved the better for everyone involved. Manchester City could yet come back with another big bid, but Rice’s desires have been made extremely clear.
It would certainly show guts for the 24-year-old to turn down the advances of Pep Guardiola, but remaining in London is clearly a bid factor for the West Ham captain.