West Ham midfielder Declan Rice is still wanting to join Arsenal this summer despite Manchester City’s attempts to sign the 24-year-old, according to the Guardian.
Arsenal have been leading the race to sign Rice in recent months after Mikel Arteta made the England international is prime target as he looks to revamp his midfield. Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey are expected to leave the Emirates Stadium this summer so Arsenal need reinforcements and Rice has been earmarked as a replacement.
However, Arsenal are struggling to agree a deal with West Ham having seen two formal offers rejected. The latest was worth £75m plus £15m in add-ons, according to the report, but the Hammers were left unimpressed with the structure of the deal.
It’s opened the door for Manchester City to try and hijack the proposed move. The Guardian claims that City are expected to submit an offer of their own and Pep Guardiola already held talks with Rice towards the end of last season to try and lure him to the Etihad Stadium.
Man City have the financial clout to meet West Ham’s £100m valuation and many feel Rice may find it difficult to turn down playing for the treble winners and play under a world class coach like Guardiola.
Rice wants Arsenal
However, the Guardian claims that despite City’s interest, Rice still favours a move to Arsenal for two important reasons. Firstly, he wants to stay in London to be close to his friends and family. Secondly, the midfielder knows he’s more likely to be a key part of Arteta’s starting eleven at the Emirates Stadium compared to what his role would be at City.
The Premier League champions have agreed a deal with Chelsea for Croatia international Mateo Kovacic – who’ll replace Ilkay Gundogan. Rice would also have to compete with Rodri for a starting berth while John Stones excelled in a central midfield position towards the end of last season, so competition would be fierce at Man City.
In contrast, Rice knows he’d be an automatic starter at Arsenal and one of the first names on the team sheet. Arteta also sees him as a future captain of the club – so the Gunners just need to agree a deal with the Hammers to get this move done
The North Londoners are expected to make a third bid for Rice in the coming days and it should be closer to meeting West Ham’s valuation. If a deal is agreed, it looks like the 24-year-old will end up moving to the Emirates but if Arsenal continue to haggle too much, it leaves the door open for Man City to persuade Rice to move north.
