ARSENAL have submitted a stunning £105MILLION bid for Declan Rice.
The Gunners are set to make Rice, 24, the most expensive British player ever with West Ham expected to accept the mega-money offer.
Arsenal aim to beat Treble winners Man City to West Ham’s Declan Rice
The late move came just hours after Manchester City had seen a bid worth £80m plus £10m in add-ons rejected by the Hammers – having entered the race on Monday evening.
Arsenal’s record-breaking proposal is their third attempt to land Rice so far this summer – the second was a club-record £90m bid made up of £75m up front plus £15m in add-ons.
City must now fork out more than the £100m they secured Jack Grealish with in August 2021 or admit defeat in their pursuit of Rice.
Rice’s preferred destination has always been North London under boss Mikel Arteta, despite his admiration for Pep Guardiola and their trophy haul.
West Ham were originally looking for a total fee worth over the £106m Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez to make Rice the costliest player in British football history.
But it is understood that this sort of figure would be almost impossible to turn down.
Rice is currently on holiday, and was not expected back at West Ham training for another two weeks following his England exploits.
Arteta wanted Rice’s switch wrapped up before they head off on their own tour to the States, their opening game coming on July 20, and looks close to getting his way.
City will now consider their next move carefully, with boss Guardiola keen to replace Ilkay Gundogan after his recent Barcelona switch.
Rice was open to moving his family up north to Manchester had Arsenal refused to budge on their initial offers, but that is now not the case.
Rice is desperate for a change of scenery after guiding them to Europa Conference League glory in Prague.
Owner David Sullivan revealed after the Euro final in Prague that he could leave.
Rice’s current deal expires in June 2024 with a club option to extend that by 12 months.
He rejected several offers from West Ham to extend that deal over the past 18 months, with the chance to earn over £200,000 a week.
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