Treble winnersManchester Cityor The Arsenal?West Ham UnitedcaptainDeclan Riceappears to be leaning towards the latter.
This transfer saga is already boring and stressing the life out of us all, yet here we are with another update.
Declan Riceis Arsenal’s top summer target and Mikel Arteta has been laying the groundwork for a transfer since February.
The England midfielder is expected to cost more than £100million.The Gunnershave made two offers so far, both believed to be in the region of £90m.
West Ham knocked back both bids, which has grantedManchester Citytime to assess their options, and with Ilkay Gundogan on the brink of a move to Barcelona, Pep Guardiola has ɾєρօɾτedly decided he wants to sign Rice.
David Ornstein ɾєρօɾτed on Thursday that a bid from the Premier League, European and FA Cup champions was expected to be lodged later that day, yet no opening offer has been made, as of Saturday afternoon.
City’s interest caused a bit of a meltdown amongstArsenalsupporters on social media. They are a reactionary bunch, aren’t they?
Saturday has been a positive day for the club’s fɑɴȿ, however, with an update from The West Ham Way hinting that Rice only wants the Gunners.
The ɾєρօɾτ claims there has not been a bid fromCity, which hints they realise the player’s preference is to joinArsenal. Fabrizio Romano ɾєρօɾτed on Thursday that Guardiola’s side would only make a bid if they know Rice wants to join them.
When terms of a Ԁєɑł were discussed betweenCityand West Ham, it was ‘made very clear’ the 24-year-old ‘really favours a move toArsenalover the two’, with the ‘main factor’ being Arteta, who knows ‘Rice’s role in his project’.
It is noted that the Cityzens would probably have a good chance of signing the England midfielder ifArsenalfail to have a bid accepted.
Bayern Munich have shown an interest but Rice ‘has no desire to move to Germany’.
City could yet ‘test the waters with a bid’ in what could be a good ‘tactical’ move asArsenalwould have to pay more than they had originally hoped.
Multiple ɾєρօɾτs sayArsenalwill make a third offer, which should come very soon.
