Arsenal are set for talks with West Ham over signing Declan Rice for £90m this summer
Arsenal are ready to offer West Ham £90M to sign Declan Rice this summer – with the Gunners preparing a £300,000 a week deal to bring in the Hammers captain as they look to sack Granit Xhaka and another title push want to set up
- Rice is Arsenal’s priority and they are poised to break their transfer record for him
- Mail Sport also understands that the club will relax restrictions on their wage bill
- Xhaka could be one of the players to make way for the West Ham midfielder
Arsenal are set to open talks with West Ham over a £90 million deal for Declan Rice, as Emirates leaders prepare to loosen their pockets ahead of their return to the Champions League this summer.
In addition to making major funds available to Mikel Arteta to bolster his squad, Mail Sport understands the club will ease wage costs to ensure the team can attract enough talent to maintain their current status as genuine Premier League title contenders .
Arsenal will try to offset their expected spending by selling a number of players – with Granit Xhaka among those lined up to leave.
England midfielder Rice is the club’s main target and Arsenal are prepared to break their transfer record – which currently stands at £72 million for the signing of Nicolas Pepe in 2019 – to sign the West Ham star.
Intriguingly, however, there is a reluctance to match West Ham’s £100 million valuation for Rice, although sources have indicated the Gunners would be willing to offer the midfielder a contract that would see his potential earnings exceed £300,000 a week. amounts.
Arsenal are about to open talks with West Ham over a £90 million summer move for Declan Rice
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta will be supported in the summer to strengthen his roster
Bukayo Saka’s ongoing new contract, which will be announced shortly, will also be worth the £300,000 per week.
Indeed, there is an agreement at Arsenal that their wage bill will rise in the summer as Arteta targets players with more physicality amid concerns his team lacked strength and power during crucial moments of the season. Rice fits the profile of a player who wants to add Arteta to his squad.
The Gunners have been cautious about balancing their wage costs in recent seasons following the significant financial strain large contracts for the likes of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have placed on the club’s accounts.
But the quality of the player Arteta wants to sign will not come cheap in terms of transfer fees and wages, and the club is ready to support their head coach financially.
In addition to Rice, Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi and Bayer Leverkusen forward Moussa Diaby are also among the players on the Gunners’ radar.
A planned sale of some fringe players, plus more revenue from their Champions League qualification, will help support their plans for a summer rebuild.
Bundesliga side Leverkusen’s interest in Xhaka could facilitate a move for Diaby.
The first contact between the two clubs for the Swiss international, who has played a key role for Arsenal this season, has taken place, but a final agreement has not yet been reached.
Arsenal will try to sell a number of players, including Granit Xhaka who is lined up to leave
Meanwhile, Newcastle are admirers of Kieran Tierney, who has struggled to start this season following the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
It is expected that the young striker Folarin Balogun will leave. The 21-year-old has been linked with a £30 million transfer interest from clubs such as AC Milan after starring on loan at Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims this season.
Balogun is keen not to return to the margins at Arsenal, while Emile Smith Rowe and Rob Holding have been short of playing opportunities this season.
Reiss Nelson has also turned down a new contract and will leave when his contract expires next month.
