Arsenal have had an opening bid for West Ham captain Declan Rice rejected with a value understood by football.london to be £80million guaranteed with at least £10million in add-ons. Manchester City are considering a potential move for the England international despite the Gunners firmly leading the race for Rice's signature.
The Hammers are open to selling the 24-year-old ahead of next season but are holding out for a fee in the region of £100million. Rice is entering the final 12 months of his contract at the London Stadium with West Ham having the option to extend his deal by a further year.
City’s interest in Rice is understood to be a factor in West Ham's delayed approach to discussions with Arsenal. It is within the east London side’s motive to be patient and assess potential future bids by rivalling clubs.
David Moyes will need to sign a replacement for his captain ahead of next season and the Scotsman seems to have a clear preference as to where Rice moves to this summer. According to The Sun, Moyes wants Rice to join Chelsea so that the Hammers can sign Conor Gallagher as part of any deal in return.
The report states that Rice has no willingness to rejoin the Blues, who released him as a youth player, as he has his mind made up about joining Mikel Arteta’s project at the Emirates Stadium. The England international is said to prefer to stay in London, but City may also have a player of interest to West Ham if they look to step up their interest in the 24-year-old midfielder.
The Hammers were previously interested in signing Kalvin Phillips before he joined City from Leeds United. The 27-year-old finds himself on the fringes of Pep Guardiola's squad at the Etihad Stadium and would fall further down the pecking order if Rice signed for City.
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This could allow the Premier League champions to offer Phillips as part of a cash plus player swap deal to sign Rice ahead of Arsenal. Chelsea are willing to sell Gallagher this summer - but may look to use the midfielder as part of a deal to sign Brighton star Moises Caicedo instead.
The Blues have held a long-term interest in Rice but are currently pushing to sign Caicedo instead, football.london understands. The Gunners are said to have cooled their interest in the Ecuadorian midfielder as they prepare to make a second bid to sign Rice this summer.
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