Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wants to sign two new midfielders in the summer transfer window. The Gunners are currently pursuing a £100million deal to bring West Ham captain Declan Rice to the Emirates Stadium.
Hammers' chairman David Sullivan revealed that the club will sell Rice this summer following their Europa Conference League success. Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: "I think it has to be [Rice's final game for West Ham].
"We promised him he could go. He set his heart on going.
"You can’t ask for a man who has committed more to us this season. In due course, he has to get on and we have to get a replacement – or several replacements.
"It’s not something we want to happen. We offered him £200,000-a-week 18 months ago. He turned it down. It’s cost him £10million to stay at West Ham in that time (in lost wages). And he wants to go. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there."
Arsenal have renewed interest in Moises Caicedo, who is likely to cost £80million, according to The Times. Two Italian clubs have shown interest in Thomas Partey, who has two years left on his contract, and Arsenal could be keen to offload him as they look to complete a deal for Caicedo - following their pursuit of Rice.
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A report from Times' reporter Gary Jacob detailed that there has been disappointment at the Emirates Stadium that Partey dominated matches for two-thirds of the past season, then regressed to his performance levels of the previous two campaigns. Chelsea are set to push for Caicedo's signing this summer, football.london understands - with Mauricio Pochettino hoping to add a new midfielder, goalkeeper and striker to his squad at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal will spend a large portion of their transfer budget on a deal to sign Rice this summer, but they may be able to raise more funds by offloading the likes of Partey, Kieran Tierney and Granit Xhaka. The Ghanaian midfielder is valued at €30million (£25.6million), according to CIES Football Observatory - but the Gunners could demand a higher fee given his contract isn't set to expire until 2025.
Xhaka is on the verge of completing a £13million switch to Bayer Leverkusen - which is expected to be finalised when Arsenal sign a midfielder. This would raise a minimum of £38million for the Gunners to reinvest in a deal for Caicedo - nearly half of what Brighton are demanding for their Ecuadorian midfielder.
Arsenal and Chelsea both had bids for Caicedo rejected during the January transfer window. The two London clubs could be involved in a bidding war for the 21-year-old who is expected to leave the Amex Stadium ahead of next season.
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