Arsenal 'CONFIDENT' of Rice deal as Romano CONFIRMS third bid
Graham Shaw
- Updated: 28 Jun 2023 07:30 BST
- 3 min read
Arsenal have made a THIRD bid for West Ham and England midfielder Declan Rice and are 'confident' of winning the race to sign him. That is according to ace transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano.
Romano says the Gunners have returned to the negotiating table with an offer worth £100m plus £5 in add-ons, higher than that offered by big rivals Man City.
The Gunners are hopeful they have one major advantage over Treble winners City in the race for Rice - the player's reported desire to stay in the London area and close to his family and friends.
MORE: Premier League summer transfers: ALL the done deals
'Incredible' Arteta pushing hard for Rice signing - Romano
As well as updating on the state of the transfer negotiations between Arsenal and West Ham, Romano also provided some insight into how the Gunners are approaching things. And in particular, coach Mikel Arteta.
He described Arteta's influence on this high-profile transfer chase as 'incredible' and says the Spaniard is absolutely committed to Rice being his club's biggest signing of the summer.
The signing of Rice would kick off what could be a huge summer for Arsenal as they bid to go one better than last season, when they were second in the Premier League title race behind Man City.
The Gunners have also agreed a deal for Chelsea striker Kai Havertz and have a second bid in for highly-rated Ajax defender Jurrien Timber.
Winning the race for Rice is crucial for another reason too - if City land him it likely makes the gap between the two squads even greater. No pressure then Mikel...
Once again, Mikel Arteta and Edu doing incredible job in Declan Rice saga ⚪️🔴
Arteta, pushing as he never did before to insist on Arsenal plans for Declan to be star signing, one of the faces of club’s long term project.
Huge effort by Arteta, on both player & internal sides. pic.twitter.com/SHMy4Gz9gg— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 27, 2023
