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Arsenal transfer news as they may walk away from West Ham United and Declan Rice - Sky Sports journalist
Arsenal may walk away from the transfer of West Ham United captain Declan Rice due to the increasing financial package, according to Sky Sports journalist Mark McAdam.
The Mirror reported on Tuesday (30 May) that Bayern Munich have put a “huge” package of £95million on the table for the 24-year-old’s services, with manager Thomas Tuchel already understood to have made contact with Rice.
Speaking live on Sky Sports News (30 May), and as shared by Football Daily, McAdam said these rising costs no longer made the Gunners frontrunners, with Munich, alongside Manchester City and Chelsea, the three most likely destinations.
“The financial package is growing,” he said.
“There is obviously a hefty fee for West Ham, there will be agency fees, there will be add-ons, there will be wages, and when you start to look at a total package for a player like Declan Rice, who is an England international as well, it could be quite sizeable.
“Therefore, that would rule out certain clubs.
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“There would be six or seven or eight clubs who would take him in the Premier League, but there are only probably three who can afford him.
“And I think Arsenal, while they might be his preferred choice should he have an open book of choosing where he wanted to go, might find the financial challenges [too hard].
“We have seen over the last 12 to 18 months if they can’t meet the valuation or they don’t think it is right financially for the football club, they’ll quite happily walk away from the deal.”
Narrowing the pool
The finances of the Declan Rice transfer have long been seen as a potential stumbling block for the Gunners.
They have shown time and time again that they will walk away from the table if they believe they are being out-priced for a player, as shown with their pursuits of Moises Caicedo and Mykhailo Mudryk in the January transfer window.
If West Ham stick to their £100million valuation of the midfielder, it looks unlikely that Arsenal would spend this amount of their transfer purse on Rice.
If Mikel Arteta’s side are blown out of the water on the finance side of the deal, it looks like one of Manchester City, Chelsea or Bayern Munich would be the most likely suitors.
Todd Boehly hasn’t hidden his chequebook since arriving at Stamford Bridge, while Manchester City could be in need of further midfield additions if Ilkay Gundagon and Bernado leave the club in the summer transfer window.
The deal for Rice is likely to have several twists and turns, and Arsenal’s financial restraints could play a huge factor in where he plays his football next season.