West Ham and Arsenal are yet to finalise a deal for midfielder Declan Rice; fee of £105m has been agreed in principle but there is still work to do before the clubs find a resolution over payment structure
Friday 30 June 2023 19:18, UK
No deal has been agreed yet to take Declan Rice from West Ham to Arsenal as talks continue over the payment structure of the transfer.
The overall fee - worth £105m - is not an issue with one source claiming it has been agreed in principle.
While there is still a willingness from all parties to get it done, there is still work to do before the clubs find a resolution.
Rice is now free to discuss personal terms and have his medical with Arsenal.
The transfer breaks down as an £100m initial fee plus £5m in performance related add-ons.
Arsenal have already had two club-record bids rejected by the Irons - a £90m bid comprising a £75m fee and £15m in add-ons and an opening offer thought to be worth £80m plus add-ons.
The offer smashes Arsenal's transfer record - the £72m they paid Lille for Nicolas Pepe in 2019.
Rice has spent his entire professional career with West Ham and led the club to the Europa Conference League title as his last act.
Mikel Arteta, who has mostly relied on Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard as his midfielders last season, has been keen to strengthen in that area of the field. He looks to have got his No 1 target.
The Athletic's David Ornstein:
"I don't think Arsenal will let this one go now.
"All parties are working towards a compromise so Arsenal need to get that structure of payments in place having had a fee accepted.
"I suspect they will do what they need to do and this deal should get wrapped up in due course.
"It might not be imminently, but I imagine in the next days or week Arsenal will get the man who is absolutely central to Arsenal's and Mikel Arteta's project."
Hammers chairman David Sullivan said a gentleman's agreement meant Rice could leave despite having a year remaining on his contract, with the option to extend it by a further 12 months.
Rice joined West Ham's academy from Chelsea as a teenager and has been ever-present since his breakthrough season in 2017-18. He took over the captaincy after Mark Noble's retirement last year.
The 24-year-old played 50 games in all competitions last season as West Ham finished 14th in the Premier League, before winning the Europa Conference League in Prague.
Rice has played more than 200 games for West Ham and earned 41 caps for England since his international debut in 2019.
Speaking in March, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said Rice is only worth around £50m-£60m - around half of the current figure being discussed by West Ham and Arsenal.
"I love Declan Rice," Neville said. "Obviously, Declan knows the position, but when I look at world-class holding midfielders, and players of that type, because he doesn't score or assist enough goals, you're putting him into that category of more of a destroyer.
"[Then], you've then got to be someone who I think is highly competent on the ball and linking play, and having that knowledge of the subtleties of getting on the ball from the back four.
"I personally feel, at this moment in time, that Declan needs to go and work under a different set-up, he needs to drive forward in his career, he needs to go and play at a different club.
"I think there's a lot of growth, and a lot for Declan to do to get up to the levels of Casemiro, Rodri and players at the top of the game in those positions.
"But, for me, I wouldn't be spending £110m or £120m... I would spend £50m-£60m on Declan Rice, but I wouldn't spend the figures being reported."
Who will be on the move this summer ahead of the transfer window closing at 11pm on September 1 in England and midnight in Scotland?
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