Arsenal has been put on their toes after Manchester City made a move to sign West Ham 24-year-old midfielder, Declan Rice on Monday night.
Man City had offered an opening bid of £90 million after weeks of negotiations. The main fee is £80 million while £10 million covers add-ons.
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West Ham had rejected the offer from the treble winners, still maintaining their stance on a fee not less than £100 million.
Pep Guardiola wishes to acquire Rice as a replacement for Ilkay Gündogan, who has moved to Barcelona on a free transfer. Fans think Rice would make a fine duo with inbound Mateo Kovacic.
The club is bent on securing the deal.
However, it has been established that Rice prefers to go to Arsenal. Moreover, he is a major target of the Arsenal boss in the present transfer window.
The Gunners are finalizing moves to lodge a third bid for the star midfield player.
Despite Rice’s preference remaining Arsenal, he has made it clear that he wasn’t going to decline the new bidders of they outbidded Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Manchester United has an eye on the 24-year-old, but prefers to remain as an onlooker for now.
Arsenal’s previous and second bid totalled £90 million, including a £15 million fee worth add-ons. West Ham had rejected the bid as they were unsatisfied with the terms, claiming the add-ons were unrealistic.
The Emirates boss, Mikel Arteta, had wanted to spread the fee over a five-year term as was the norm with most negotiations involving such substantial amounts.
The club had already ran into sizable financial commitments in the summers of 2021 and 2022, and it needed to clear them.
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West Ham, on the other hand, wanted all payments to be made within a two-year term.
Adding Rice’s fee to its burdens was going to spread the club’s finances thin, but Arsenal is ready to face it – though not with a two-year payment plan.
