Latest in the already trending transfer season, Arsenal, who have been trying to turn over every stone to finalize a bid to sign up West Ham skipper Declan Rice to their side are close to finalizing an agreement worth £105 million for the England midfielder. This development came hours after Manchester City pulled out of the bidding race following their £90 million offer got rejected by West Ham.
Following the rejection, Manchester City have pulled out of the bidding war, citing that they do not want to go any higher. This now means that Arsenal have an all-clear path to go all in to try bringing in Declan Rice to their side. Just hours after West Ham declined Manchester City’s signing offer for Rice, Arsenal lodged their third offer worth a whopping £100 million PLUS £5 million in add-ons, which makes a total of £105 million.
Declan Rice has been a hot purchase favorite for many leading clubs and Arsenal particularly, who have been consistently vying to reel him into their team even after two previous offers rejected by West Ham. Arsenal manager Pep Guardiola has identified Declan Rice as a potential replacement for Ilkay Gündogan, who has moved to Barcelona on a free transfer.
Now that Arsenal’s offer is more than West Ham’s asking price of £100 million which they had set for Rice’s transfer, the deal is nearing completion as the two clubs are in final talks for the same. Even though some insiders at West Ham were expecting Manchester City to submit an improved offer for Rice on Wednesday morning, City have made it quite clear that they won’t be going any higher than their previous £90 million offer.
Arsenal’s previous bid of £75 million + £15 million in add-ons was rejected by West Ham as it was less than the £100 million asking price they had set for Rice. The two back-to-back failed bidding attempts and the entry of Manchester City into the bidding race prompted Arsenal to roll out the best possible offer to close the deal, which now might just happen, and the transfer news might be out in a couple of days.
