According to Sky Sports News, Declan Rice will sign with Arsenal for £105 million. This would make him the second most expensive British signing.
The 24-year-old midfielder has participated in West Ham’s development program since he was 14 years old. He participated in over 200 games for the club.
The price will also be less than the £106.8 million Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez in January.
Rice will conclude his ten-year tenure with West Ham. During that time, he transitioned from participating on the junior team to serving as captain of the club. Since making his debut with the Hammers in 2017, he has appeared in 245 games. In his final game, West Ham won the Europa Conference League final, the club’s first championship in 47 years.
Jude Bellingham became the most expensive English footballer ever this month when he was transferred for £115 million from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid.
Rice is currently the second most costly player. In August of 2021, Manchester City paid $5 million less for Jack Grealish than they did for Rice. It would also be the third occasion an English team has paid more than £100 million for a player.
Why Arsenal Needs Declan Rice
During their April 2-2 draw with West Ham at the London Stadium, if Arsenal needed any additional motivation to sign Declan Rice, they received it shortly after the half-hour mark.
It appeared that the team led by Mikel Arteta would win by two goals, which would have placed them six points clear of Manchester City. However, everything changed when a participant made a split-second decision. Now, they wish to engage this performer in a recording contract.
Rice ran when he realized that Kierney was about to transfer the ball to Thomas Partey from deep inside the Arsenal half. He arrived just in time to seize possession of the ball, then carried it into the penalty area and transferred it to an approaching Lucas Paqueta.
The subsequent penalty, which Paqueta gained and Said Benrahma scored, altered the course of the game. Perhaps even that of the title contest. Rice was the starting point.
This sequence of play exemplified many of the qualities that Arsenal admired in Rice: his ability to recognize an opening, his speed and strength to get there and win the ball, and his composure in setting up his companion and converting the penalty…
The Premier League Race Begins
The add-ons are still being discussed, but Rice is expected to pass a test and join Arsenal this week. Keeping the payment structure on a shortened schedule would help West Ham’s finances in the future as they attempt to replace the England international after being placed on UEFA’s Financial Fair Play suspension in September.
Rice is believed to have already penned a long-term contract with Arsenal, making him one of the club’s highest-paid players. Arteta has exerted significant effort to recruit Rice to his team. He believes that Rice’s fortitude and leadership skills can help Arsenal win the Premier League since 2004.
Without making bold predictions, this may be the move that transforms Arsenal from an “almost” team into one with the intelligence and grit to win the championship for the first time in twenty years. At the very least, Rice’s arrival should help them maintain their championship aspirations. They were eight points clear in the middle of the previous season but only won two of their final eight games, which cost them a great deal.
This is not to say that City doesn’t strive to improve, doesn’t want to create a dynasty, or that Pep Guardiola can’t prevent them from becoming too complacent, which is a negative consequence of success.
However, consider that Arsenal led the league for 248 days last season. No other team in the Premier League’s 31-year history has been in first place longer without capturing the championship. Mikel Arteta’s team did lose in the end. Until April, they also frightened a City squad that won three titles and made history. They were about to enjoy a successful season.
