West Ham United: Arsenal hope to complete Declan Rice transfer before Sunday – Sky Sports
Arsenal will look to get the deal for West Ham captain Declan Rice over the line before the squad fly out for their pre-season tour of the USA on Sunday, according to Sky Sports.
As far as West Ham are aware, Rice has completed his medical at the North London club and has been training regularly on his own while on holiday in Portugal this summer, as Arsenal look to get the deal done before they jet off for pre-season.
The deal for Rice, which was agreed eight days ago, is still yet to be signed as Arsenal’s lawyers are causing delays in drawing up official paperwork. This has become increasingly frustrating for West Ham who are waiting to sign the contracts.
The sooner the deal gets done, the better for both clubs
Both West Ham and Arsenal will benefit from getting this deal over the line as soon as possible. The Gunners will want Rice to fly out to the USA with the rest of the squad for pre-season, while West Ham are waiting on the £105million transfer before they do deals themselves.
The completion of the deal was seen as a formality after the two clubs came to an agreement on the fee and the structure of payments, but the delays are leading to further frustrations on all sides of the deal, particularly as reported at West Ham.
Mikel Arteta will be keen for Rice to spend the majority of pre-season with the Arsenal squad as he gets to know the players and staff as well as learning his role tactically in the Spaniard’s side.
Rice will be a key component of the way Arteta wishes to play in the coming season as the club look to mount a second title charge in as many seasons, so the sooner he joins up with the squad the better for his involvement in the side.
In other West Ham news, a BBC journalist has shared his thoughts on Qatar’s potential interest in the club.