Arsenal ready to offer West Ham £90m to sign Rice this summer

2023-05-16 12:46

Arsenal ready to offer West Ham £90m to sign Rice this summer



Arsenal are set to start talks with West Ham over a £ 90m bid for Declan Rice as the Emirates prepare to loosen their wallets ahead of their return to the Champions League this summer.


 

As well as handing Mikel Arteta big money to bolster his squad, Mail Sport understands the club will ease restrictions on wage bills to ensure the squad can attract enough talent to maintain their current status as a real club. status as Premier League title contenders.

 

Arsenal will offset their expected spending by selling some players - Granit Xhaka is among those lined up to leave.

England midfielder Rice is the club's top target, with Arsenal willing to break their transfer record - currently £72m for Nicolas Pepe in 2019 - to sign the West Ham star.

Interestingly, however, West Ham value Rice at £ 100m , despite reports that the Gunners are willing to offer the midfielder a contract that would take his potential earnings beyond £ 300,000 -a-week .

Arsenal ready to offer West Ham £90m to sign Rice this summer

summer swell

Bukayo Saka 's pending new contract to be announced will also be worth £ 300,000 -a-week .

Indeed, there is an understanding at Arsenal that their wage bills will balloon over the summer as Arteta targets more physical players amid fears his side will lack strength and power at critical moments this season. Rice fits the profile of a player Arteta would like to add to his squad.

The Gunners have been carefully balancing their wage bill in recent seasons after big contracts such as Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put huge financial pressure on the club .

But the quality of players Arteta wants to sign won't come cheap in terms of transfer fees and wages, with clubs prepared to back their manager financially.

In addition to Rice, Crystal Palace defender Mark Goy and Bayer Leverkusen striker Moussa Diaby are also on the Gunners' radar.

The plan to sell some fringe players, combined with the increased income they will receive from Champions League qualification, will help their plans for a summer rebuild.

Arsenal ready to offer West Ham £90m to sign Rice this summer

 

Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen's interest in Xhaka could help facilitate Diaby's move.

The two clubs are understood to have made initial contact over the Switzerland international, who has played a pivotal role for Arsenal this season, but no final agreement has yet been reached.

Newcastle, meanwhile, are admirers of Kieran Tierney, who has struggled to start this season following the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Young striker Fralin Balogun is expected to leave. With interest from the likes of AC Milan, the 21 -year-old has been linked with a £30million move and has flourished at Ligue 1 side Reims this season .

Balogun does not want to return to the fringes at Arsenal, while Emile Smith Rowe and Rob Holding have been lacking in action this season.

Rice Nelson also turned down a new contract and is set to leave when his contract expires next month.