Arsenal closes Declan Rice deal is complete with £100 million
Arsenal closes Declan Rice deal with £100m buying him from West Ham United. News of the Gunners’ interest in the England international first broke in January and despite several other clubs holding their own conversations with the player, we’ve always been considered favourites for his signature.
It is claimed talks are progressing smoothly and “confidence that the deal will be finalised soon”.
West Ham chairman David Sullivan confirmed on Thursday that Rice would be allowed to leave this summer after the player had made it clear he was keen on a change of scenery. On the other hand, Real Madrid had closed the deal with £115 million from Borussia Dortmund.
Arsenal’s record transfer remains the £72 million paid to Lille in 2019 for Nicolas Pepe. Rice will trump that by some margin if it goes through although the Gunners are confident they can recoup a solid amount via player sales in the coming months.
Granit Xhaka will move to Bayer Leverkusen for £13 million, Pablo Mari will sign for Monza for £6 million while Kieran Tierney and Folarin Balogun are likely to be allowed to depart should offers upwards of £30 million land on Edu’s desk.
Cash could also be raised by the sales of the aforementioned Pepe, Cedric Soares, Nuno Tavares, Auston Trusty, Sambi Lokonga and Charlie Patino. Elsewhere, Fulham owe us more money for Bernd Leno and there’s a sell-on clause in Matteo Guendouzi’s contract that will be triggered if, as expected, he leaves Marseille this summer.
In terms of other potential recruits, Moises Caicedo remains a high priority and Mikel Arteta wants to recruit another right-back with Leicester’s Timothy Castagne and Real Valladolid’s Ivan Fresneda both options.
David Sullivan said on the victory stage where West Ham United beat Fiorentina Europa conference league finals with 2-1 at Prague. He said, “Declan Rice has probably played his last match for West Ham after being Promised he could leave this summer. The 24 year old England Midfielder has been Heavily linked with a move from the West Ham club.
Asked if Wednesday’s Europa Conference League triumph over Fiorentina was Rice’s last appearance, Sullivan on interview, “I think it has to be.
We Promised him he could go. He set his heart on going.” On Wednesday Rice became only the third West Ham captain to lift a trophy for the club, following in the footsteps of the great Bobby Moore, who lifted the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965, and club legend Billy Bonds, who led the Hammers to the FA Cup in 1975 and 1980.On the other hand, Aston Villa had completed the deal on signing Youri Tielemans.
Declan Rice Journey over his career
Declan Rice has played 245 games and scored 15 goals for West Ham, having made his debut in the 2016-17 season after coming through the academy.
He represented the Republic of Ireland three times before switching his international allegiance to England, for whom he has been capped 41 times, playing in all five matches at the World Cup last year.
Rice has one year left on his contract, although West have the option to extend that until the summer of 2025, leaving them in a strong position to negotiate a substantial transfer fee. “You can’t ask for a man who has committed more to us this season,” Sullivan said.
“In due course, he has to get on and we have to get a replacement – or several replacements. It’s not something we want to happen. We offered him £200,000 a week 18 months ago. He turned it down.
“It’s cost him £10m to stay at West Ham in that time. And he wants to go. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there. The offers will start to come today.
“There are three or four clubs who have shown interest but, out of respect to West Ham, while we’re still playing, you don’t make offers for players.” “He set his heart on going and in due course he has to get on and we have to get a replacement.”
“It is not something we wanted to happen. We offered him £200,000 a week 18 months ago and he turned it down. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there.
“I think the offers will start to come. Three or four clubs have shown interest but out of respect to West Ham, while we’re still playing, you don’t make offers for players.”
