West Ham United supporters have told captain Declan Rice to stay for another ten years amid talk of a potential transfer to Arsenal.
The north London outfit are keen to bolster their options in midfield this summer and they have made Rice their primary target, football.london understands. But they will likely face stiff competition for the England international, with the likes of Manchester United and Bayern Munich also said to be interested in a move.
football.london understands that the Gunners are confident they have a strong offer for Rice but feel that it will ultimately come down to the player to decide amid interest from a host of other elite European sides. Arsenal are keen to avoid a bidding war and they’ve demonstrated in the past that they are willing to walk away from priority targets like Lisandro Martinez and Mykhailo Mudryk - who eventually joined United and Chelsea respectively.
Mikel Arteta's side are preparing an official offer for Rice, but they want to be respectful to the Hammers, who take on Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final tonight. Ahead of kickoff in Prague, Hammers fans sent a message to the 24-year-old, chanting for him to stay in east London.
"Ten more years, ten more years Declan Rice", they chanted. "Ten more years, ten more years I say. Ten more years, ten more years Declan Rice, playing football the West Ham way."
Despite the West Ham faithful urging him to stay put, Rice has made it no secret of his desire to play in the UEFA Champions League, a competition that Arsenal will be playing in next term. “One hundred per cent I want to play in the Champions League,” he said back in November.
READ MORE: Man Utd make Declan Rice transfer request as Arsenal prepare £90m opening bid
“For the last two or three years I’ve been saying that. I’ve been playing consistently well for my club and I feel like I really want to keep pushing.
"I see my friends here who are playing Champions League and for big trophies. You only get one career and at the end, you want to look back at what you’ve won and the biggest games you’ve played in.”
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