Arsenal may have to pay a huge transfer fee to add Declan Rice to their squad this summer as West Ham insists on a significantly high transfer fee.
The midfielder has refused to sign a new contract at the East London club and wants to play in the Champions League.
This should make the Hammers eager to cash in on him at the end of this season when he will have just 12 months left on his current deal.
Arsenal is hopeful he will join them for a cut-price fee, but they might be disappointed in that regard, with Football Insider revealing Mikel Arteta’s side will have to pay £100 million.
This is the fee West Ham has demanded for his signature and the report says they have refused to budge on their demand.
Just Arsenal Opinion
Rice is a superb player and would easily be worth that amount if he had a long contract with the Irons.
However, his current deal expires at the end of next season and he would be a free agent in 14 months, so spending that much on him makes no sense.
West Ham will eventually be forced to lower that asking price if he insists on not extending his deal with them unless they want to lose him as a free agent.
See the latest Arsenal press conferences for Arteta (including discussing Man City) at subscribe to JustArsenalVids
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Arsenal have not yet switch ON to next summer transfer window mode to start discussing thr possibility of signing Declan Rice next summer window. For, the club are still in the switch OFF mode of the window. As they are seriously campaigning in the Epl to finish this season on a high. To win the title or finish in the top-four places as runners up. And thus qualify for the Ucl next season. Of which they are 2 wins away from qualifying for it on goals difference to their currently nearest team to qualify Man Utd.
Add Eddie to the table for Declan plus Cash. They get a Striker they need, we get the midfielder we want and money in the bank. We have other players like Pepe, Taveres, Holding, Lokonga, AMN and a few more can be sold or used as make weight in a deal.
Also leaves space to make a decision on Flo Balogun and a new attacker & RCB purchased.
Rice
CF/Attacker
RCB
Jesus won’t carry us to a title, I said when we signed him he is a good player not a starting player to win u games at CF. Always better used on the wing to compete with Saka, Martinelli & Nelson. Smithrowe goes back to battling Øde for the CAM role as Vieira is a dud for £35m.
This last few games have shown we lack cover for players out of form also aswell as players good enough to go for a title to come in for our best players like Saliba, Gabriel, Saka, Martinelli or Partey.
Everyone wants him so if the price isn’t paid by Arsenal, he’ll go to newcastle, or Real, or Citeh, or anyone with the money.
If Everton get relegated, we can get Onana for a cut price, say 35 mil.
I’d even go for DCL too if he wasn’t injury prone.
Declan has a year on his contract and the club have the option of extending that for a year. Do you not do any research? Suspect he’ll swerve the Emirates anyway though. He wants to win things.
Positive thinking there Bish
Forget him.
Is he messi,will he win games single handedly for us ? If caceido is cheaper let’s buy him instead.
Are we still interested in Zubimendi,that real sociedad no 5 ? Fine player.
For me it is Onana of Everton or Ahamada of Crystal Palace (raw but built in the mode of box to box midfielders).
I feel we have a right footed version of Emmanuel Petit in Partey but not a mobile driving or box to box mifielder like our great Patrick Vieira or Kante.
My friend you must really know your football. I’ve never even heard of Ahamada. Has he actually ever played a first team game for Palace ?
By the way, Muhammed Kudus was literally sensational playing for Ghana in the world cup, I’d love to see him playing for us.
Not sure about Onana. Alot of people seem to rate him but I want to see more cultured players at Arsenal.
@EG
Ahamada is a rated youngster at Crystal Palace (very young, very raw and played only sub appearances). Crystal Palace do have a way of bringing up youngsters and they are quite robust.
He is a cross between Abou Diaby when he was fit and N’golo Kante.
He would not go into the team straightaway in 2023/24 season but would walk into the team in the season after.
As we have only one style of play, I am looking for a bob to box midfielder who can do a defensive job well and join in with midfield runs into the box which creates confusion. A bit like Aaron Ramsey but better defensively than him.
Onana can of course fit into the team straightaway in 2023/24 season.
Reason I went for Ahamada is MA’s lovefor Xhaka who probably has only 1 season at this level left in his tank.
Arteta please listen !!!
Do not buy the following “players”.
1. Wilfred Zaha – I won’t say what I think of him, it would get me into trouble .
2. Mason Mount – not good enough.
However do get the following players.
1.Muhammed Kudus – fabulous in World Cup
2.Ngolo Kante – but only if he is really fit. He is a model pro.
3. Declan Rice – obviously
Jury’s out on the following transfer talk.
1. Ollie Watkins – not sure how good he really is.
2. Calvert-Lewin – only if he is really fit.
Signing any of the plethera of foreign players who have done well in other leagues is always going to be risky. Great when it works out well, but terrible when they can’t do it in the PL.
Examples: Pepe, Fabio Vieira, Tavares etc.
There are a host of players we can sign which shouldn’t break the bank.
CF Kolo Muani, El Nesryi,
CM/CDM: Onana,Soumare, Ugarte,Zubimendi
AM:Thiago Almada, Viega,Kudus
CB:Ousmane Diomande,Josip Šutalo
RB: Fresneda,Frimpong
GK: Bazunu,Raya
@g
I do like Kolo Muani who can not only play as CF but also on the wings as he did for France in the world cup and is a robust forward. He was the only one who showed real drive for the French in the finals after Argentina outplayed them in the Ist half.
Transfer fees quite often start with totally unrealistic expectations by the selling club. But when the reality of Rices contract fast running down hits them and they find fewer clubs willing to even negotiate at such an unrealistic asking price, as they will IMO, it is “amazing” how that price can fall SUNSTANTIALLY(in quote marks because it is NOT actually amazing at all, but entirely predictable).
There is no club who needs and wants Rice who will be prepared to pay £100,000 or more . As West Ham will find out, come this June!
For Jon
£ 100,000. Anyone would pay that. You must have meant 100 million and I presume this is a typo.