Arsenal with the latest bid, will break the British record transfer fee for a player If West Ham accept their third offer
By Kehinde Okeowo
North London club, Arsenal, on Tuesday night submitted a third bid for West Ham United captain, Declan Rice.
According to The Athletic, the current proposal by the Gunners is worth £105m, with £100m expected to be the main fee, while £5m will come in the form of add-ons.
If the Hammers accept this offer, Arsenal will break the British record transfer fee for a player.
Prior to this development however, TheNiche had reported that the Premier League champions, Manchester City sent in a bid worth £80m up front, plus £10m in add-ons for the England midfielder, but it was rejected by West Ham.
ALSO READ: West Ham reject Man City’s £90m bid for Declan Rice
Arsenal before then also had a club-record £90m bid – comprising a £75m fee and £15m in add-ons – turned down by their London rivals after their opening offer thought to be worth £80m plus add-ons was also rejected
The Gunners boss, Mikel Arteta, is desperate to beef up his midfield ahead of the new season, with Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey expected to leave the Emirates this summer.
Rice joined West Ham’s academy from west-London club, Chelsea as a teenager and has been ever-present since his breakthrough season in 2017-18.
As a mark of his quality, he was picked to take over the captaincy of the team after Mark Noble’s retirement last year.
The 24-year-old played 50 games in all competitions last season helping West Ham to finish 14th in the Premier League and avoid relegation.
The England international also lifted the Europa Conference League trophy with the club in Prague.
Rice has played more than 200 games for West Ham and also earned 41 caps for England since his international debut in 2019.