West Ham United news: Arsenal to press on ‘rapidly’ with Declan Rice transfer – David Ornstein
Arsenal are set to press on “rapidly” with the transfer of West Ham United captain Declan Rice, according to the Athletic’s David Ornstein.
David Sullivan confirmed live on talkSPORT on Thursday (8 June) that the Hammers were expecting bids imminently for the 24-year-old after the club’s Europa Conference League victory over Fiorentina.
The Gunners are now preparing to table a £90million bid for the England international, while Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel has reportedly already spoken to Rice about a transfer to the German giants. [Sky Sports, 2 June]
Speaking live on FIVE Insider [8 June, 1m45s], Ornstein shared that Mikel Arteta’s side were still at the front of the queue for the midfielder’s signature and are ready to strike an agreement.
He said: “The sense, very evidently, is that he is Arsenal’s top target for the summer and they appear to be at the front of the queue.
“There is interest from elsewhere. We have seen it has been well documented that Bayern Munich and Thomas Tuchel are very keen and have held some kind of discussions.
“We have seen Manchester United linked with him, Newcastle too, and Chelsea, which has a previous link to him from where he began his career before he was released as a 14-year-old.
“But I sense that consensus across the industry is that Arsenal will try to press on with this, and rapidly, and strike an agreement.”
Heating up
Now that West Ham United have finished their European campaign, the race for Rice’s signature is set to ramp up.
With as many as six top European clubs interested in signing the Hammers captain, Sullivan should be able to start a bidding war with ease.
The club have said time and again that they value the midfielder at a minimum of £100million, but whether any clubs will be willing to propose that fee is another question.
Arsenal have refused to be drawn outside their valuation of players over the last year, opting out of signing Moises Caicedo and Mykhailo Mudryk in the January transfer window and instead opting for Leandro Trossard.
Although Ornstein says that they are ready to move “rapidly”, the price may well be the stumbling block for the Gunners.
Under Todd Boehly, the Blues have shown they are happy to dig deep for their desired targets, and if new man Mauricio Pochettino makes Rice his number-one target, it could prove extremely hard to stop them in their tracks.