Manchester City have officially entered the the race to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United this summer.
The Premier League champions have tabled their first official bid for Rice as they set out for a bidding war with Premier League rivals and 2022/23 title challengers, Arsenal.
As confirmed by David Ornstein, the treble winners have tabled a bid worth £90m for Declan Rice. A breakdown of the bid shows City are valuing Declan Rice at £80m while £10m goes for add-ons.
Manchester City’s entry into the race to sign Declan Rice has set the stage for an interesting episode in Premier League transfer window in the coming days.
Arsenal were leading the race to sign Declan Rice and have submitted two rounds of bid for the player which were turned down by West Ham.
Manchester City were monitoring Arsenal’s trails on Declan Rice with reports emerging Manchester City will only bid for the West Ham star if they have assurances he will be opened to join the club.
Hence, it is believed the prolific midfielder has given City the greenlight to join the club, placing the Premier League champions on equal footing with Arsenal, who have shown interest earlier.
Arsenal will now have to engage City in what will be a tight bidding war for Declan Rice with both clubs not ready to back off.
Interestingly, Manchester City’s opening offer for Declan Rice has matched Arsenal’s second offer for Rice after the first bid was rejected.
Arsenal tabled an £80m opening bid for Rice but the offer was turned down by West Ham United. The Gunners then tabled another bid worth £90m for Rice and were turned down again.
With Manchester City not crossing the £90m threshold for Rice, it is believed West Ham United will also reject the offer.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are reportedly studying Manchester City’s rival bid for Rice and are set to offset City’s offer with a third bid which is expected to cross the £90m threshold.
West Ham is understood to be hard negotiators and will certainly not budge in their valuation of Rice. They are open to let the England star leave after he refused to renew his contract but are demanding an offer in excess of £100m for the player.
There are projections the bidding war now instigated by Manchester City will likely prompt the Hammers to further hike Declan Rice transfer fee and will sell the player to highest bidder.
While Arsenal are preparing for their third bid for Declan Rice, sources close to Manchester city have revealed the Premier League and European giants will launch another bid for Rice depending on West Ham’s response to the £90m offer.
After signing Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea, Manchester City are hopeful of adding Rice to their midfield lineup to offset the departure of IIkay Gundogan.
Arsenal are also keen on adding Declan Rice to the squad following the exit of Granit Xhaka and the expected departure of Thomas Partey.
Arsenal are also closing in on a £65m move for Chelsea star Kai Havertz to bolster the club’s midfield ahead of next season’s campaign.
