ARSENAL have seen an opening offer to sign Declan Rice rejected by West Ham.
The Gunners are the favourites to land the England International after rivals Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayern Munich fell out the race.
AlamyDeclan Rice has been the subject of a bid from Arsenal[/caption]
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Rice, 24, is said to be rated at £110million by West Ham and SunSport understands Arsenal looking to pay a club record £90m for him.
But it is expected the two clubs can agree on a compromise fee of £100m, with Arsenal willing to climb up to that mark.
However, the bid is understood to have been rejected with the initial bid from Mikel Arteta‘s outfit reported by Sky Sports to be worth just £80m plus add ons.
The Athletic reported the opening bid from the Gunners came in after talks between Arsenal executive Tim Lewis and Hammers co-owner Karren Brady at the Premier League AGM on Wednesday.
The report adds Arsenal sporting director Edu and director of football operations Richard Garlick are heading the process.
An extra blow to Arsenal’s efforts have also seen Manchester City enter the race, with the Premier League champions now considering a move for the West Ham skipper.
This being said, Rice’s first choice is Arsenal – and Arteta is hopeful a deal can be completed before their pre-season trip to the States in a month’s time.
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Arsenal have made Rice their number one summer target in order to bolster their midfield, and are willing to spend big to land him.
West Ham owner David Sullivan said after the club’s Europa Conference League final victory last week that Rice was free to leave the club.
Rice has a year left on his current deal in East London, with a club option to extend that to 2025.
Rice has rejected several offers to extend from West Ham over the past 18 months, including turning down an offer that would have earned him £200k-a-week.
Should Rice complete a move to the Emirates, his first game could be up against Nottingham Forest after the Gunners fixture list was released this morning.
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