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Arsenal closing in on a deal to sign West Ham star Rice

By on May 4, 2023

Declan-Rice

Arsenal are reportedly closing in on a deal to sign West Ham United star Declan Rice this summer, as per Football Insider.

The 24-year-old is reportedly keen on taking the next step in his career. He is set to enter the final year of his current contract in the summer, and has rejected several contract proposals from the Hammers to commit his future with David Moyes’ side.

So, it is increasingly likely that the midfielder will leave London Stadium at the end of this season. Arsenal appear to be looking to take advantage of this situation and sign Rice as Mikel Arteta has earmarked the West Ham star as his priority target to bolster the engine room.

According to the report by Football Insider, Arsenal are currently in ‘pole position’ to sign Rice and they are ‘confident’ of luring the midfielder to the Emirates Stadium. But, the report claims that the Gunners will have to dig deep to get any potential deal done this summer as West Ham have slapped a whooping £100m price stage on their star man’s head.

Football Insider further claims that Man City and Chelsea have also been showing an interest in the England international but they have other priorities so Arsenal are set to get a clear pathway to sign their primary midfield target.

Rice to Arsenal

Having qualified for the Champions League, Arsenal need proper squad depth to compete in Europe’s elite club competition along with challenging for the Premier League title next season.

Thomas Partey has been a mainstay in Arsenal’s midfield this term but his dip in form has cost the club in recent games. Arteta signed Jorginho to deputies for Partey but he isn’t a long-term solution for Arsenal. So, signing a new holding midfielder would be a shrewd decision and Rice would be an excellent acquisition.

However, the reported £100m fee would be a huge stumbling block in getting any potential deal done for Rice as it has previously been reported that Arsenal don’t want to spend that much money to sign the 24-year-old this summer.

So, it is going to be interesting to see whether Arsenal manage to persuade West Ham to lower their valuation to get a deal done for an affordable price or shift focus on alternative targets to strengthen the engine room.