Declan Rice on verge of agreeing personal terms to quit West Ham United as Fabrizio Romano shares late-night update
Declan Rice is edging closer to leaving West Ham United with the midfielder close to agreeing personal terms with Arsenal, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The journalist reported in the early hours of Sunday (18 June) on Twitter that the deal for Arsenal to sign Rice, 23, is “entering into crucial days”.
It is understood that the Gunners want to “avoid surprises” so they’re keen on completing the deal as quickly as possible.
Manchester City are said to have enquired about Rice on Friday (16 June) but they’re still awaiting a decision from Ilkay Gundogan on his future at the Etihad.
Almost done
It’s inevitable that Rice is going to leave West Ham and while we’re gutted to be saying goodbye to the club’s incredible captain, we’re glad that the deal is almost complete.
Once it’s done and dusted, the Irons will be able to go out there and spend the money that they’ve earned for developing one of the best English midfielders in a generation.
However, spending that money is easier said than done.
Clubs will know we’ve made a lot of money from cashing in on Rice so they’ll no doubt be bumping up their prices for West Ham United.
Southampton, for example, will probably want around 25 per cent more from the Hammers for James Ward-Prowse than they would from other clubs in the running to sign him.
Ward-Prowse would be a good replacement for Rice but Ajax’s Edson Alvarez also seems to be a promising prospect.
Man City’s Kalvin Phillips, too. However, it seems that he wants to stay and prove himself at the Etihad even though he’s probably not going to get many games there next season unless there’s an injury to Rodri.