Sources: Arsenal close to Rice deal; City pull out
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Rob Dawson, Correspondent
Arsenal are close to agreeing a deal with West Ham for Declan Rice after Manchester City pulled out of the race to sign the midfielder, sources have told ESPN.
Arsenal submitted a third offer for Rice worth £100 million ($127m) plus £5m ($6.3m) in add-ons on Tuesday, sources told ESPN.
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City will not match or better the offer, sources have said, and are no longer in the hunt for the England international as things stand.
The reigning Premier League champions had a valuation in mind for the 24-year-old and believe Arsenal’s bid has already exceeded it. City had an offer of £80m plus £10m in add-ons rejected on Monday.
Arsenal and West Ham remain in negotiations over the payment structure and total fee, sources have told ESPN, with West Ham wanting £100m up front and another £10m in add-ons.
The north London club have agreed personal terms with Rice, sources added.
West Ham have long expected Rice, who has one year left on his contract plus the option of another year, to leave this summer after guiding the club to the Europa Conference League title earlier this month.
Arsenal had their opening two offers for Rice rejected, sources told ESPN, including a bid last week of £75m plus £15m in add-ons.
Manchester United have also been linked to Rice, but have not been able to match West Ham’s valuation.
City have already bolstered their midfield this summer with the arrival of Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea in a deal worth £25m plus another £5m in add-ons. Their interest in Rice was stepped up after Ilkay Gundogan’s decision to join Barcelona on a free transfer.
Sources have told ESPN that City are comfortable with their position on Rice having stuck to their valuations on players such as Marc Cucurella, Harry Maguire, Jorginho and Kalidou Koulibaly in the past. City missed out on all four players and believe their decisions have since been vindicated.
They are expected to make a move for Croatia centre-back Josko Gvardiol. The 21-year-old is valued at around £86m by RB Leipzig.
