It has been well publicized that Arsenal is interested in signing Declan Rice with West Ham rejecting two bids from the Gunners for their prized asset. The Athletic’s Ornacle disclosed the details of Arsenal’s last bid – £90 million: £75 million up front and £15 million in performance related add-ons. Manchester City finally joined the race, making a £90 million bid for Rice that has also been rejected by West Ham. Manchester City’s bid was £80 million up front and £10 million in performance related add-ons.
This was West Ham’s desire from the onset, hoping to get a bidding war for Declan Rice to maximize their profits from their captain. They have placed a mammoth price tag of £100 million for Rice and it seems likely that they would sell him if the next bid from either Arsenal or Manchester City comes close to that. I was actually surprised that Manchester City paid the same amount with Arsenal for Rice, and this official bid clearly means that both clubs are going to slug it out to secure Rice’s signature.
Despite the whispers that Rice favors Arsenal, what is important at the moment is reaching an amicable agreement with West Ham for his services. At Arsenal, he will be a sure-fire regular starter, remain in the city of London with his family and will be part of an exciting project that could see him win trophies in the foreseeable future. He also has great leadership skills and could be in line to fill the leadership void set to be created with the imminent departure of Granit Xhaka. At Manchester City, Rice will have the likes of Rodrigo and the incoming Mateo Kovacic to contend with, but he can be assured of silverware in the near team due to Manchester City’s dominance in English football.
The gauntlet has been thrown to Arsenal and the Gunners have to stamp their foot down and go all the way to get their man. Bidding wars are normal in club football, and several factors come into play, but there will be a lot of emotions regarding this Rice transfer, dependent on the outcome. I’m with the school of thought that we need to break bank to sign him, because he is a generational talent and will revolutionize our midfield, especially with Thomas Partey’s future still in doubt.
I’d expect more drama on this Rice matter in the coming days / weeks. Let’s just hope we will be on the winning side.
Sayonara.
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