Arsenal could be as much as £50million short of West Ham’s valuation for Declan Rice in what is shaping up to be a long, drawn-out transfer saga, according to reports.
The Gunners – who have not given up on the Premier League title just yet and are only one point behind Manchester City – have already identified midfield as an area they want to strengthen this summer.
There are suggestions Granit Xhaka will be allowed to leave the club, meaning manager Mikel Arteta could even be in the market for two new midfielders.
One of those will be a defensive midfielder – a sitter – to protect the back four and act as a lynchpin for the more attacking players ahead of him.
Rice has quickly emerged as Arsenal’s number one target for the role, though West Ham are prepared to drive a hard bargain and are conscious of a potential bidding war from a host of interested clubs.
Manchester United are also thought to be particularly keen on the England international, especially after his excellent display in West Ham’s win over the Red Devils on Sunday, while City and Chelsea have also been credited with interest.
Rice will only have one year left on his contract come summer, though West Ham can trigger an additional 12-month option that technically means he is committed to the club until 2025 – giving them a fairly strong negotiating position.
As such, the east London club feel they can demand a British-record fee of around £120million, though they might be willing to accept slightly less if a player is included as part of the deal.
According to The Telegraph, though, Arsenal only value Rice at around £70m – meaning they are nearly £50m shy of West Ham’s price tag.
The Gunners could, of course, throw some players into the mix to lower the overall value and have a number of fringe players they are looking to get rid of this summer.
But it appears, as things stand, Arsenal will struggle to prise Rice away from West Ham unless they are prepared to go far above their own internal valuation – though Arteta is thought to believe this summer’s budget may be better spent on bolstering several positions rather than focusing such a large sum on just one player.
West Ham are likely to wait and see how much Jude Bellingham goes for, drawing out the saga even further, and will use the Dortmund teen’s price tag – and the £107m Chelsea spent on Enzo Fernandez – as a benchmark for their own valuation for Rice.
The Hammers are prepared to cede to Rice’s wish to play Champions League football next season but want to extract as much money as they can for their skipper, while they could raid Southampton for their own captain – free-kick specialist James Ward-Prowse – as a replacement.
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