West Ham United has rejected Arsenal’s initial offer for Declan Rice, who is being monitored by Manchester City.
Arsenal has made Rice their top transfer target and has been eager to secure his signature before the start of pre-season.
However, talks with West Ham have been ongoing since the end of the club campaign, and the north London side’s bid of around £90m has been turned down.
West Ham is hoping to receive more than £100 million for Rice, including add-ons. City’s interest in Rice could further drive up the price of the player or even sabotage Arsenal’s primary summer transfer plan.
City’s first-choice midfield target this summer was Jude Bellingham, who has since joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund.
There is also uncertainty over the future of key midfielders Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva.
Rice has been Arsenal’s top midfield target for months, and West Ham has accepted that he will be leaving before the start of the new season.
Bayern Munich has fallen out of the running due to an expectation that Rice will be joining Arsenal.
Rice has remained coy on his own future, saying that he loves playing for West Ham and that he still has two years left at the club.
Article updated 2 months ago. Content is written and modified by multiple authors.
