Arsenal remain firm favourites to sign Declan Rice despite having an opening offer rejected. The Gunners submitted an opening bid of £80million plus at least £10million in add-ons which was rejected by the East London club, football.london understands.
Manchester City are believed to hold on an interest in Rice too and could join the race for the England international. If the Gunners were to lose out on yet another priority target, sporting director Edu will have to again pivot to another target to strengthen the midfield.
There are a number of potential options for the Gunners with varying levels of age, expense and availability. football.london takes a look at the potential options available to the Gunners.
Moises Caicedo
The first is Moises Caicedo. The Brighton midfielder was of interest in January and football.london understands that interest in the Ecuador international has persisted through to the summer.
The focus remains on the Rice negotiations for the time being but success or failure in talks with West Ham could spark a revival of talks with the south coast club this summer. Caicedo has other suitors like Chelsea and Manchester United, however, and a battle for his signature would almost certainly need to be won again for the 21-year-old.
Martin Zubimendi
Another player that Arsenal have had a lengthy interest in is Real Sociedad stalwart Martin Zubimendi. The Spanish international is also wanted by Barcelona to be the long-term replacement to the outgoing Sergio Busquets.
READ MORE: Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: Moises Caicedo decision, Declan Rice 'agreement', Havertz offer
The question remains whether the player can be convinced to leave even with a €60million (£51.4million) buyout clause in his deal. He has spoken of his desire to stay at La Real but perhaps a big bid from Arsenal could be enough to convince him to make the switch to North London.
Joshua Kimmich
Arsenal have been mentioned alongside the likes of Barcelona, Manchester City and Saudi Arabian sides in having an interest in Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich. Having been at the Bavarian since leaving RB Leipzig in 2015, he has become one of the best players in the world.
With Arsenal able to spend big on a midfielder this summer perhaps a sizeable offer might convince Bayern to part with their long-term versatile star. Bayern have wanted to invest in midfield and were suggested to be a rival for Rice which could create an issue for Kimmich regarding minutes.
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