Arsenal submit massive club-record bid for Declan Rice

Arsenal have submitted a massive club-record bid of £100 million plus £5m in add-ons to sign West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice this summer, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.

The Gunners have identified the 24-year-old as their priority target for the transfer window. They recently had a £90m offer turned down for him, and have now increased their proposal to £105m.

The offer has not been rejected by the Hammers, and they are currently waiting for a fresh proposal from Manchester City.

However, the Gunners are now ‘very confident’ of landing the Englishman, as per Fabrizio Romano. The club are prepared to make small changes to the payment structure to seal an agreement.

Arsenal appear close to Rice deal

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has been determined to sign the Hammers captain in the past few weeks, and the hierarchy have now backed him with a British-record transfer bid for the highly-rated star.

Rice would be a solid upgrade in Arsenal’s midfield ahead of next season. He is known for his excellent ball control and distribution from the centre of the park, and should improve in the prime of his career.

Last season, he had a pass accuracy of 88 per cent in the Premier League with 2.1 tackles and 4.4 duels won per game. In our view, he is being eyed as a replacement for Granit Xhaka in the number eight role.

The England star managed nine goal contributions in the recent campaign for the Hammers, and his tally should get better at Arsenal with more creative players around to spot his late runs in the box.

Pep Guardiola’s side are still to respond to the Gunners’ proposal for the midfielder, but the north London club should be optimistic over a deal after offering to pay £100m up front for his services.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com