- 12 hours ago
Arsenal set to sign Declan Rice as Man City PULL OUT
Carlo Garganese
- 28 Jun 2023 11:05 BST
- 3 min read
Arsenal have a clear path to complete the signing of Declan Rice after Manchester City pulled out of the race for the West Ham midfielder.
The Gunners tabled their third offer for Rice on Wednesday which surpasses the £100 million mark that West Ham have requested for their captain. Their third offer stands at £100m in a fixed fee plus £5m in add-ons.
And, according to multiple sources later on Wednesday morning, Man City have opted not to match Arsenal’s offer.
READ MORE: Premier League 2023/24 summer transfers: All the Done Deals
The Citizens have decided that their one and only transfer bid for Rice of £80m plus £10m in add-ons is a fair reflection of their valuation for the player.
That bid was rejected by West Ham and City have now decided to pull out of the bidding process.
Man City not willing to match or better Arsenal's bid of £100m plus £5m for Declan Rice so, as things stand, they're out of the race. Feeling is that they had a valuation in mind and it's already gone beyond that.
— Rob Dawson (@RobDawsonESPN) June 28, 2023
This has given Arsenal a clear path to complete the signing of Rice as they remain the only horse left in the race.
READ MORE: Arsenal's 10 most expensive transfers of all time
Arsenal likely to sign Rice
There still remains some work that Arsenal need to do in regards to the structuring of the payments to West Ham before the deal can be concluded.
It has been reported that West Ham are unhappy with the structure of the offer.
Indeed, West Ham reportedly described Arsenal’s rejected second bid for Rice as “ridiculous” and are still not satisfied with the Gunners’ third offer for the England international.
Nevertheless, there is a unanimous feeling that Arsenal and West Ham will come to an agreement.
Arsenal have already agreed personal terms with Rice, while FootballTransfers reported on Sunday that Rice is pushing to complete a move to the Gunners.
Rice will be sold by West Ham this summer as his contract at the club expires next year.
The Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022 star will become the most expensive signing in Arsenal’s history.
The Gunners are also set to announce the signing of Chelsea attacker Kai Havertz in the coming days for £65m, while they are also in negotiations to buy Ajax defender Jurrien Timber.
