Declan Rice is a wanted man this summer as Arsenal close in on a transfer deal to sign the England midfielder.
The West Ham captain appears certain to have played his last game for the club with a bidding war for his services escalating at the end of June.
Rice is a vital part of the West Ham setup, playing every single minute of Premier League action last season, and hoisting the UEFA Conference League trophy as his likely last act for the Hammers. He is also an integral figure in Gareth Southgate’s England lineup alongside Kalvin Phillips and Jude Bellingham.
The midfielder looks ready to fight for a league title next season, but which club will secure his signature?
Declan Rice transfer news: Arsenal and West Ham agree terms
Despite links to Chelsea in previous seasons due to his boyhood connection with the club, Arsenal and Manchester City quickly emerged as favourites to sign Rice.
Late on Tuesday UK time, it was reported West Ham and Arsenal had finally agreed on a fee and payment structure for the star midfielder.
The Gunners will reportedly give up a club record £105m/$134m for Rice, which is also the highest fee ever paid for a British player.
Arsenal bids for Declan Rice
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Arsenal have reached total agreement with West Ham to sign Declan Rice. #WHUFC have now accepted #AFC payment structure on record £100m + £5m fee. 24yo England midfielder given permission to do medical & finalise personal terms @TheAthleticFC https://t.co/WxG2JEaxrt
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) July 4, 2023
Why is Declan Rice leaving West Ham?
Following West Ham’s historic win in Prague to lift the UEFA Conference League trophy, chairman David Sullivan confirmed Rice would be sold in the summer.
When asked by talkSPORT if he’d played his last game, he said: “I think it has to be.
“We promised him he could go. He set his heart on going.
“You can’t ask for a man who has committed more to us this season. In due course, he has to get on and we have to get a replacement — or several replacements.
“It’s not something we want to happen. We offered him £200,000-a-week 18 months ago. He turned it down.
“It’s cost him £10 million to stay at West Ham in that time (in lost wages). And he wants to go.
“You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there.”
How much will Declan Rice cost?
The valuation of young English players in the Premier League has grown in the last few windows. Jack Grealish moved to City for £100m in 2021, Ben White joined the Gunners for £50m, and Morgan Gibbs-White cost Nottingham Forest £42.5m.
West Ham, manager David Moyes has said he expects Rice to break the British transfer record, when he leaves the Hammers but he could fall short of Enzo Fernandez’s £106.8m/$135.5m overall record at Chelsea.
West Ham will allow Declan Rice to leave this summer if they receive an offer worth £120m from a Champions League club.
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 9, 2023
According to CIES Football Observatory, who analyse the football market, Rice is valued at £70m/$87m. West Ham have made it clear they are not settling for that fee due to the nature of recent signings by the Premier League’s ‘big’ clubs.
Declan Rice wages, salary, contract
Spotrac reports that Rice earns £60,000 per week after signing a five-year contract, with a further one year option, at West Ham in the 2018/19 season.
This means Rice is earning over £3m as an annual salary with the London club. The 24-year-old reportedly turned down an eight year contract last year that would have been worth £83m.
Rice’s West Ham contract runs out at the end of 2023/24. Usually a player entering the final year of their contract would see their value decrease, but that won’t happen in this case.
Do Arsenal need Declan Rice?
A problem for Arsenal in recent seasons has been a lack of depth in midfield, especially in more defensive areas.
Thomas Partey has struggled with injuries since joining in 2020. He only missed seven matches in five seasons at Atletico Madrid, but has been sidelined 37 times due to injury for the Gunners. Mo Elneny has missed 34 games this season because of a thigh problem followed by a long-term knee injury.
Rice was a Premier League ever present for West Ham, just one of three outfield players to do so in the league. He has only been absent for 12 league games in the last five seasons.
Rice can also play in multiple midfield positions, something Arteta appreciates. He can play the positions currently occupied by Partey and Granit Xhaka, as well as further up the pitch if needed.
| Arsenal central midfielders | Age |
|---|---|
| Jorginho | 31 |
| Mohamed Elneny | 30 |
| Granit Xhaka | 30 |
| Thomas Partey | 29 |
| Martin Odegaard | 24 |
| Fabio Vieira | 22 |
Premier League 2023/24 TV channels, live streams
MORE: Watch every Premier League match in Canada on Fubo
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | — | |
| Hong Kong | — | Now TV |
| India | Star Sports | Disney+, Hotstar, JioTV |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport | Astro Go |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sport Now, Sky Go |
| Singapore | StarHub | StarHub TV+ |
| UK | Sky Sports, BT Sport | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime |
| USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo |
Fubo, Peacock |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and BT Sport streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via Fubo in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).
