Manchester City's £90m bid for Declan Rice was turned down by West Ham; Arsenal remain firmly in the hunt for the midfielder after two club-record bids were rejected; West Ham's valuation of Rice remains £120m, but it is understood the club would accept £100m plus a player
Wednesday 28 June 2023 10:40, UK
Arsenal have made a third bid for West Ham's Declan Rice worth £105m.
The deal breaks down as a £100m initial fee, plus £5m in performance-related add-ons.
The offer smashes Arsenal's transfer record - the £72m they paid Lille for Nicolas Pepe in 2019.
Rice has been Arsenal's primary target this summer and the player's preferred destination is the Gunners.
Sky Sports News reported on Monday night that Premier League champions Manchester City had offered £80m up front, plus £10m in add-ons for the England midfielder, but the bid is short of West Ham's valuation.
Arsenal had a club-record £90m bid - comprising a £75m fee and £15m in add-ons - turned down by their London rivals earlier this month after their opening offer, thought to be worth £80m plus add-ons was also rejected.
West Ham's valuation of Rice remains £120m, but it is understood the club would accept £100m plus a player.
Sky Sports News has been told Arsenal will have to negotiate the structure of their new record-breaking offer for Rice.
It's thought West Ham United want the guaranteed fee paid up in a shorter time frame.
The total amount - £105m - is not expected to be an issue.
Arsenal transfer updates: West Ham still 'unhappy' with Arsenal's £105m bid
Rice will leave West Ham in the close season after he captained the club to their first European trophy in 58 years.
Hammers chairman David Sullivan said a gentleman's agreement means Rice can leave despite a year remaining on his contract, with the option to extend it by a further 12 months.
Rice joined West Ham's academy from Chelsea as a teenager and has been ever-present since his breakthrough season in 2017-18. He took over the captaincy after Mark Noble's retirement last year.
The 24-year-old played 50 games in all competitions last season as West Ham finished 14th in the Premier League, before winning the Europa Conference League in Prague.
Rice has played more than 200 games for West Ham and also earned 41 caps for England since his international debut in 2019.
Speaking in March, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said Rice is only worth around £50m to £60m - around half of the current figure being discussed by West Ham and Arsenal.
"I love Declan Rice," Neville said. "Obviously, Declan knows the position, but when I look at world-class holding midfielders, and players of that type, because he doesn't score or assist enough goals, you're putting him into that category of more of a destroyer.
"[Then], you've then got to be someone who I think is highly competent on the ball and linking play, and having that knowledge of the subtleties of getting on the ball from the back four.
"I personally feel, at this moment in time, that Declan needs to go and work under a different set-up, he needs to drive forward in his career, he needs to go and play at a different club.
"I think there's a lot of growth, and a lot for Declan to do to get up to the levels of Casemiro, Rodri and players at the top of the game in those positions.
"But, for me, I wouldn't be spending £110m or £120m... I would spend £50m-£60m on Declan Rice, but I wouldn't spend the figures being reported."
Who will be on the move this summer ahead of the transfer window closing at 11pm on September 1 in England and midnight in Scotland?
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