Man City now confident of reaching final agreement with West Ham for Arsenal target Declan Rice

Arsenal target and West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice is getting closer to sealing a move to Manchester City, reports Sky Sport Italia journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.

The Premier League Champions are confident of reaching an agreement with the Hammers over a deal.

Arsenal had been favourites to sign Rice, but Man City appear to have moved ahead of them in the race for the England international.

The North London club tabled bids for the 24-year-old, but West Ham were not pleased with the structure of their offers.

Man City quickly moved and are likely going to snap up Rice except Arsenal find a way to convince the Hammers and the player with attractive offers.

The Europa Conference League winners want more than £100 million for their captain, and while the Gunners were willing to meet their demand, they wanted to spread the payments over five years.

Man City have come up with a better proposal from the look of things, and Rice appears to have been convinced.

Arsenal’s refusal to quickly wrap this deal up could end up proving costly, and they may need to start looking elsewhere for the midfield reinforcement manager Mikel Arteta wants.

They have Brighton & Hove Albion star Moises Caicedo and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia on their radar, but missing out on Rice will be a bitter pill to swallow.

The West Ham star spoke with Man City manager Pep Guardiola towards the end of the just-concluded season, and it seems the Catalan eventually convinced him.

The Champions League winners are set to lose Ilkay Gundogan and are keen to move for a replacement capable of filling the shoes of the German.