Arsenal’s opening bid to acquire the services of Declan Rice has been rejected as Manchester City explore the possibility of hijacking the deal.
According to talkSPORT, Arsenal’s opening bid to sign Declan Rice has been rejected by West Ham United. The Gunners have failed to strike a deal with the Hammers for the services of the 24-year-old midfielder who is their priority transfer target. And, the report suggests that Manchester City are looking to hijack the deal.
Manchester City were closely monitoring Jude Bellingham for a while now. They want to wanted to sign the 19-year-old amidst uncertainty around İlkay Gündoğan’s future. However, with Bellingham joining Real Madrid, they pushing for the services of Rice. And, with City entering the race, Arsenal will have to be quick or else they might lose the race to the recent treble winners.
The 24-year-old midfielder is amongst the best in his position and has been the mainstay of the West Ham team for quite a few years. He recently guided them to the UEFA Conference League title.
While his contract with the club runs until the summer of 2024, the England international is all set to part ways with the club that he has been a part of since he was 14. Even the owner of West Ham, David Sullivan has talked about the departure of his star player.
Sullivan said: “I think it has to be. We promised him he could go. He set his heart on going.”
The Hammers have set an asking price of over £100 million for the 24-year-old. The Gunners made indications that they were ready to break the bank and meet the asking price. However, their first bid was well sort of the asking price.
Mikel Arteta’s team put forward a bid of around £80 million plus £10 million in potential add-ons. As a result, the Hammers didn’t really think twice before rejecting the offer.
Arteta is keen on having another world-class midfielder in his ranks as he looks to once again push for the Premier League title. And, with the Gunners back in the Champions League they do need a bit more depth in the centre of the park to be competitive in both competitions.
But, with City Manchester looking to hijack the deal, Arsenal will have to act as quickly as possible or else they might lose out on their priority transfer target despite him being keen on a move to the Emirates.
