Former Premier League player Danny Murphy says Declan Rice is "buzzing" ahead of his move to Arsenal in the summer transfer window. The England international is nearing a huge £105million switch to the Emirates Stadium from West Ham after an intense saga in the past few weeks.
football.london understands that the Gunners have held interest in Rice since early this year, making him a top priority for their midfield rework. It would take a while for their plan to come into action though, with the Hammers playing in a European final as well as an international break that followed the end of the season.
Two bids from the north London outfit were turned down - sitting at £80million and £90million respectively - which gave rivals Manchester City a chance to swoop. They made their opening offer, which was also rejected, before Arsenal made the huge leap to offering over £100million.
City pulled out of the race and West Ham agreed a deal in principle, which has since moved onto a full agreement, with all the final payment terms finalised. All that's left is a medical and the signing of the contracts, with reports stating the former is set to commence on Friday.
With those tests expected to bring the signing even closer, former Liverpool player Murphy claims to have bumped into Rice and had a conversation about the move. He said he met the England star last Sunday, where excitement was apparent for the move and linking up with Mikel Arteta.
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He told Rio Ferdinand's YouTube channel Five: "I saw Dec on Sunday. We were chatting & he was buzzing, he couldn’t wait to get to Arsenal. He said Arteta was magic when he met him."
It shows the turnaround at Arsenal in recent years that the top players are now excited by the idea of joining the side over their rivals in the Premier League or Europe. Given the club-record deal, the move for Rice will be a big one, but one that may be necessary in moving closer to winning the biggest titles available.
