Arsenal could emerge as very strong contenders for West Ham’s Declan Rice as the Gunners meet all the conditions the England international is looking for at his next club.
Writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside column, transfer expert Ben Jacobs has stated that the Hammers are resigned to losing Rice this summer and could sell the midfielder for around £70-75m – £30m less than what was quoted last summer.
Rice has been at West Ham his whole career so far and is ready for a new challenge at the age of 23. The England international stated at the World Cup that he’s envious of his teammates playing in the Champions League and that could swing things in the favour of pursuing clubs such as Arsenal and Manchester United.
According to Jacobs, Chelsea have put in a little more leg work on this deal than most, but it’s going to be quite an open race and Arsenal might well enter it a bit later.
Speaking about Rice’s future, Jacobs stated: “sources have said on multiple occasions that Rice would like to stay in London, which opens the door to both Arsenal and Chelsea, perhaps more so than Manchester United.
“Rice, personally, is ready for a new challenge, and he’s spoken positively about Arsenal, praising Mikel Arteta.
“Having said that, I don’t think it’s Champions League or bust for Rice. Chelsea have an ambitious project built around young players that they want for the long-term, and I think that will trump something like Champions League football. Still, the Champions League does affect a club’s budget, it can stop you getting more than one marquee signing.”
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