Arsenal in pole position for £90m Declan Rice after West Ham admission

The deal will come with some added implications though

Arsenal are set to make a move to try and sign Declan Rice after his Conference League heroics with West Ham. Rice captained the Hammers to their first major trophy in 43 years on Wednesday night after they beat Fiorentina 2-1 in Prague to lift their first-ever European trophy. Saïd Benrahma opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Giacomo Bonaventura equalised with a delicate touch and finish into the bottom corner. However in the last minute of the game, Jarrod Bowen was set through on goal by Lucas Paquetá and remained cool as he slotted home the winner and wrote himself into West Ham folklore. After the game, Rice insisted that he wasn’t thinking about his future but conceded their had been interest.

“At the moment there’s a lot of speculation going on about my future,” he told BT Sport. “There is interest from other clubs but ultimately I still have two years left at West Ham. I love this club and I love playing for this club.”

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Bayern and Man United keeping track of Declan Rice

Mikel Arteta has reportedly identified Declan Rice – who is also admired by Bayern Munich – as his number one target this summer but is waiting to see what fee West Ham will demand for his services.

"I think the offers will start to come today," admitted West Ham chairman David Sullivan after the Conference Final victory. "There are three or four clubs who have shown interest. We promised him he could go. He has set his heart on going. You can't ask more from a man who has committed what he has to us this season.”

The Daily Mail have reported that West Ham want the full fee of Rice’s transfer fee paid within the next two years. Transfers can be paid over a number of years but after being placed on UEFA’s financial fair play watchlist last September, two large fees would ensure that they don’t fall foul of any breaches and stay within the laws. Another side also interested in Rice is Manchester United, however they are working with limited funds and may not be able to stump up the money that West Ham are likely to ask for, which is believed to be in the region of £100m.

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