Arsenal's transfer pursuit of Declan Rice has continued to take numerous dramatic twists and turns after the Gunners submitted their second bid to West Ham. After months of groundwork being done, Arsenal saw their first bid of £80million plus at least £10million in add-ons rejected last week and followed that up with another formal offer totalling the same sum.
This time the fee paid up front was £75million with the add-ons this time being set at £15million but some far more achievable than the ones in the previous bid. Similarly to the first proposal, the latest offer was also rejected by the Hammers with the club sticking by their £100million valuation, as per the Athletic's David Ornstein.
Despite this minor setback, there is still confidence within the Emirates Stadium that the Rice move will get over the line with West Ham's demands clear. The Gunners must also be wary of Manchester City and Chelsea who are still keeping themselves informed on Rice, but currently have other priorities.
Currently, the terms involved with Arsenal's offer do not fit with West Ham's wishes as they want a significant portion of the guaranteed fee paid upfront instead of the staggered payment over six years the Gunners offered previously, football.london understands.
However, while it is unlikely they back down from this stance, David Moyes' side have already changed their mind on the price. According to the Guardian, Arsenal were initially told that £80million would be enough to sign the 24-year-old this summer but West Ham's asking price has risen significantly because of their Europa Conference League triumph earlier this month.
If Rice is to depart this summer, securing a European trophy in his final game understandably does give West Ham some incentive to up his price. However, the fresh demand going up to £100million and possibly even £120million if some reports are to be believed, is unlikely to deter Arsenal but perhaps make them more reluctant to meet those demands.
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As previously reported at football.london, similar to the Mykhailo Mudryk situation the club want to try and avoid the additional pressures of triple-million-pound fees.
Elsewhere in the market, Kai Havertz also looks set to be the recipient of a new transfer offer from Arsenal. The Gunners saw a first bid rejected last week but, according to the Daily Mail, a new package offer worth a total of £60million has been made, broken into £55million in guaranteed fees and £5million in add-ons.
