According to CBS reporter Ben Jacobs, Arsenal is currently “working on a proposal” for West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice.
Declan Rice will sign with whom?
This summer, Rice is likely to receive a number of offers, but according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal are the “big favourites” to win the race to sign him. However, Romano makes it clear that the situation is still “open.”
According to Football Insider, the Gunners will likely have competition from a number of other Premier League teams. Manchester City is prepared to enter the race, and Chelsea and Liverpool are also keeping an eye on the situation.
Arsenal and Man City appear to be in a good position to sign the 24-year-old given that he has expressed a desire to play in the Champions League, but Jacobs has now revealed one potential advantage Mikel Arteta may have over his former team.
The CBS reporter stated: “What Arsenal are doing is working on a proposal for Rice in an interview with GiveMeSport. He continues to be one of their top priorities, and we are aware that midfield is another crucial area.
Declan Rice has been very complimentary of Arsenal. Of course, there are additional suitors. Manchester United and Newcastle United have expressed admiration, and Chelsea has also taken a look.
But even if it’s not a deal-breaker, I’ve always been told that Rice would prefer to remain in London. That obviously gives Chelsea and Arsenal some hope, and they can take advantage of that.
How has Rice fared so far this year?
The £60k per week midfielder has had another outstanding campaign, especially defensively, where he leads the Premier League in interceptions and ranks among the top ten in tackle completions.
Since their captain was named by Sofascore as their best-performing Premier League player last season and again this campaign, averaging a 7.20 match rating, West Ham fans have grown accustomed to his fantastic performances.
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Rice would be a significant upgrade over Granit Xhaka, who is most likely to leave in the summer, and Arteta needs to take advantage of Arsenal being back in the Champions League by bringing in players of his calibre.
The England international has outperformed Xhaka in terms of pass completion rate per 90, tackle average, interceptions, and interceptions per 90 over the past year. He just needs to increase his offensive output to reach the level of the ideal central midfielder.
