Manchester City’s have seen their Ā£90m Declan Rice bid rejected by West Ham this morning.
The European champions had put together a package which included an Ā£80 million fee with Ā£10m add-ons. The refusal from David Sullivan came swiftly, but City are expected to return with a second bid.
Tellingly there is no inclusion of Kalvin Phillips or any other player in part exchange.
A third offer form Arsenal is expected as early as today (Tuesday) but where it’s structured appealingly is another matter. As mentioned in last nights blog, the Gunners are trying to spread their payments over a four year term. It is also understood that the add-on triggers are unrealistic.
Manchester City have agreed to pay the first Ā£80 million of any transfer fee over 24 months. This offer is far more appealing to West Ham but clearly not enough numerically given the bid rejection.
It wasĀ announcedĀ on Monday morning thatĀ Ilkay GundoganĀ will be joining Barcelona as a free agent. Itās no surprise that City have set their sights on securing a deal for Rice.
Both players ending the previous Premier League season with the same number of key passes made, this could be one of the reasons why the treble winners have identified Rice. He has been previouslyĀ describedĀ as āoutstandingā by journalist Henry Winter, as a suitable replacement for Gundogan.
Moving forward, if Pep Guardiolaās side are eager to sign our captain this summer, they will have to work quickly to agree a deal with West Ham for him given Arsenalās clear intentions of not letting him slip away from them.
This story is a particularly fluid one and I’d expect another twist as early as today . . . watch this space.
[…] Declan Rice is certain to leave as soon as the protracted transfer negotiations with Arsenal are concluded. Other notable departures could include Nikola Vlasic, Gianlucca Scamacca and Ben Johnson. […]