Soon-to-be Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is set to cut his holiday short once the Gunners and West Ham can finalise the £105million deal, according to the Mirror.
According to the paper (30 June, page 63), West Ham are reluctant to budge on the payment structure for the 24-year-old as they want the full amount to be paid in just 18 months, rather than spread over four years as Mikel Arteta’s side have requested.
Rice has made his feelings known that he wants to join Arsenal, and will cut his holiday short to undergo a medical in the UK once the transfer is finalised and this impasse has passed.
The final hurdle
When such a large transfer fee is being negotiated, often small details take a while to be ironed out. West Ham will understandably want as much of the £105million as soon as possible, but Arsenal are resisting such a quick turnaround in the payment.
The Mirror claim that a compromise is likely to be met. Following this Rice will cut his holiday short and finally put pen to paper and sign for his second-ever club as a senior player.
Just when the medical will take place seems unclear, but David Ornstein claims the deal should be done in the coming days once Arsenal and West Ham have agreed on a structure of payment for the Europa Conference League-winning captain.
Rice could be Arsenal’s third signing in a week if he is announced within Ornstein’s timeframe, following the confirmation of Kai Havertz into Arteta’s side [Arsenal] as well as Ajax defender Jurrien Timber set to move to north London for over £40million [Fabrizio Romano].
West Ham meanwhile are reportedly in the market for many players to improve their squad following Rice’s departure and will likely reinvest a lot of the funds made from his sale.
The Hammers are reportedly made approaches to sign up to four players, including Leeds United’s Tyler Adams, James Ward-Prowse, Denis Zakaria and Harvey Barnes [Daily Mail].
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