Declan Rice emerges Arsenal’s top summer target – with Gunners confident they can fend off Chelsea
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Arsenal make £80m Declan Rice their top summer target and are keen to break his transfer record to land the West Ham star… with Gunners bosses confident they can beat him to Chelsea to sign him after losing Felix and Mudryk to the Blues.
- Mikel Arteta has identified 24-year-old Declan Rice as Arsenal’s top summer target
- Rice is likely to leave West Ham this summer in search of European football
- Sources suggest Arsenal are confident they can beat their Chelsea fans
- Rice was a youth player at Chelsea before being released by the club at the age of 14.
Declan Rice is emerging as Arsenal’s priority transfer target this summer with Mikel Arteta set to break the club’s transfer record to sign the England international.
West Ham captain Rice is due to leave London Stadium this summer, and the Hammers want a deal worth £100m, although there appears to be little hope the east London club will receive that fee.
Chelsea, who recently beat the Gunners with the signing of Shakhtar Donetsk striker Mykhailo Mudryk, were believed to be in the top position to sign Rice this summer.
Arsenal lead search for midfielder Declan Rice, with West Ham resigned to losing him
However, the Gunners and Chelsea will go head-to-head again over a high-profile player this summer as they battle to sign Rice.
Sources have told Sportsmail that Arsenal believe they are well positioned to beat their London rivals with the signing of Rice this summer.
Rice has gone on to talk about her desire to play Champions League football. Arsenal, barring a complete capitulation of their season, will regain their Champions League status.
As it stands, Chelsea are struggling to finish in the top four; they are currently 10 and 10 points below the Champions League places.
The midfielder looks set to leave the east London club this year in search of European football.
Arsenal’s transfer record is £72m, the sum they paid to sign Nicolás Pepe from Lille in 2019.
The north London outfit currently lead the Premier League by eight points, having lost just once and drawn twice in their 18 games so far this season.
Rice, 24, has established himself as one of the Premier League’s most prominent players at West Ham and is a key part of Gareth Southgate’s England set-up.
While at the World Cup, Rice was open about her desire to play at the highest level in the game, noting that you only get ‘one’ run.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners are reportedly confident they have taken the lead in the race for Rice
“I see my friends playing in the Champions League, winning the big trophies,” he said ahead of England’s round of 16 tie with Senegal.
“You only have one race and at the end of your career you want to see what you’ve won.”
Having turned down a series of contract offers, the expectation at West Ham is for him to leave this summer on his current contract only valid until 2024.
Interest in the midfielder was reported to have cooled last summer as a result of West Ham demanding close to £150m for the player. Manchester United, for example, had inquired about his availability.
Arsenal climbed eight points to the top of the table after their 2-0 win against Spurs
In January 2021, as Chelsea’s interest in the player came to light, David Moyes, West Ham’s manager, said it would take money from the Bank of England and the Bank of Scotland to persuade the east London club to to sell
“It doesn’t matter who the Chelsea manager was, or whoever came in, it would have been the same response,” Moyes said.
“I’ve said it from the start and I’m just repeating myself: money would be required from the Bank of England, and I may even need to add the Bank of Scotland too because it’s been so good.”
