Arsenal have reportedly received a clear message from West Ham over their transfer pursuit of Declan Rice.
The 24-year-old was identified as a top target for Mikel Arteta’s side earlier this year but the Gunners have so far seen two bids rejected this summer. West Ham are willing to sell their skipper after he led the club to a European trophy last season but are holding out for a high-profile fee, despite Rice being set to enter the final year of his contract, albeit with an option for an extra 12 months.
Arsenal recently saw a second bid for Rice rejected and have been joined by title rivals Manchester City in the battle for his signature. The treble-winning side are yet to submit an offer but have held discussions with West Ham, amid Ilkay Gundogan’s imminent move to Barcelona.
It has been reported by TalkSPORT that the Hammers are ‘encouraging’ Arsenal to table a third bid for the midfielder and improve on their recent offer of £75million, plus £15million in add-ons. football.london understands that the Gunners will get their man if they either table an offer that exceeds £100million or one which guarantees a significant fee to be paid upfront.
It is claimed that Rice prefers a move to Arsenal but is open to joining Man City, if Pep Guardiola’s side were to outbid the Gunners. Speaking after the Europa Conference League final, Rice confirmed he was attracting interest from other clubs when asked about his West Ham future.
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“I’m captain of this club, I absolutely love it to pieces and cannot speak highly enough of this place so let’s just see what happens,” he told BT Sport. "Let’s just wait and see [if this was my last game for West Ham]. Who knows.”
