David Ornstein shares update on Arsenal announcement of Declan Rice transfer from West Ham United
David Ornstein has claimed that Arsenal’s deal for West Ham captain Declan Rice is “done and dusted” and that there is no cause for concern for Gunners fans despite a delay in the announcement.
Speaking on Back Pages Tonight for Sky Sports News on Wednesday (12 July), Ornstein said that a deal of this magnitude, a £105million total fee, can take time to finalise but that the transfer is on track for completion.
The Rice transfer saga has been the biggest of the transfer window so far, with the deal set to break the all-time British transfer record and the second-biggest Premier League transfer of all time.
Ornstein said: “My understanding is everything is pretty much done and dusted. For Arsenal fans, there’s nothing to be concerned about. The Gunners are committing a record fee of £100m plus £5m in add-ons.
“Of course, they still needed to agree the payment structure, which got done, and the announcement can take time with a deal of this magnitude.
“There’s a lot to work through on various sides of the deal but to my knowledge, it is on track, they’ll get the final stages done and everyone will get this announcement they’ve all been waiting for in due course.”
Sleeper train on track
Slow and steady wins the race, and Arsenal are certainly taking this literally.
While it is understandable that deals of such “magnitude” can take time to finalise, West Ham fans must be becoming restless as they look towards a post-Declan Rice era at the London Stadium.
Arsenal fans too will be feeling this same itch as they will want Rice involved in pre-season preparations set to begin this Sunday (16 July) in Washington [Daily Mail] so he can be integrated into the squad as soon as possible.
But confirmation from Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano [Caught Offside] that the deal will happen despite the delay will go far in settling these nerves amid rumours of the West Ham hierarchy’s frustration [Sky Sports].
The deal is a club record for both sides, West Ham’s biggest-ever outgoing and Arsenal’s biggest-ever incoming, so both sides have the motivation to ensure it crosses the line.
Rice has also reportedly passed his medical at Arsenal and currently is preparing for pre-season alone while in Portugal [Daily Mail] as Arsenal themselves begin their pre-season preparations in Germany before flying out to the States.
While this transfer saga has turned into a sleeper train, it is seemingly safely on track.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers are interested in the signature of one of Everton’s standout attackers.