West Ham is currently not entirely happy with the structure of Arsenal’s £105m bid for captain Declan Rice. He has been the subject of a bidding war between Arsenal and Premier League champions City, who announced the acquisition of Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea for an initial fee of £25 million on Tuesday. City had a £90 million offer for Declan Rice rejected by West Ham on Tuesday morning, consisting of £80 million in guaranteed money and £10 million in add-ons. Meanwhile, Arsenal has already had two bids rejected by the Hammers.
In addition to setting a new British transfer record, that sum would eclipse the £100 million City paid to Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021. Rice would become the joint-fifth most expensive player in history thanks to the agreement. However, despite getting very near to West Ham’s asking price, the champions of the Europa Conference League do not think the deal’s structure is appropriate. West Ham anticipates receiving the whole amount of the promised £100 million by 2025, whereas Arsenal is now planning to pay it over a period of more than three years. If the Gunners agree to forward their timetables, the sum itself is not seen as a barrier to a deal.
The good news for Arsenal is that Manchester City, who West Ham had anticipated would return with a better offer, has opted to end talks. They will now concentrate their efforts on finding a new place for Ilkay Gundogan, who joined Barcelona earlier this week on a free transfer. They may also revive their interest in Gabri Veiga, a long-time goal, whose release clause at Celta Vigo is estimated to be around £35 million.
Before focusing on Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, both Chelsea and Manchester United had been interested in Rice. However, it would have needed something remarkable from the Red Devils to be able to stump up a realistic financial proposal. Rice’s chosen location has remained Arsenal, and the personal details of a deal at the Emirates Stadium are almost set. Manager Mikel Arteta is reportedly nearing agreements on two other well-known players, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, bringing the club’s whole summer investment to more than £200 million.
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