West Ham are now “ready” to sign off on the sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal but are waiting on lawyers at the Emirates, Sky Sports reports.
The £105million total package has been agreed, with the payment structure on the guaranteed £100m expected to see the money arrive in three lots by summer 2025.
Arsenal overcame Manchester City in the race for the Irons captain back on 28 June and now, almost a fortnight later, the final announcement is almost here.
According to the update from Sky Sports on Monday night (10 July): “West Ham are ready to sign the contracts for Declan Rice to become an Arsenal player.
“The Hammers are waiting for Arsenal’s lawyers to approve the final wording of the deal and, once that is done, they will sign and Rice will complete his move to north London.
“Arsenal are hopeful of completing the signing of Rice before the squad flies to the USA for their pre-season tour on Sunday.”
Wait goes on
It sounds like everything will finally be tied up this week which should come as a relief to all involved, since delaying the inevitable is only backing up other work.
Despite late suggestions that the Irons were prepared to abandon the deal over the payment discussions it always seemed too high-stakes for the move to fall through once the £105m fee was accepted.
And with the haggling over the details now done it is surely just a day or two now before Rice is unveiled as an Arsenal player.
That won’t come as any great joy to West Ham supporters, but since it has been on the cards for months now it is time for the club to look forward and bring in replacements.
James Ward-Prowse, Denis Zakaria and Tyler Adams are all in the Irons’ sights for a new-look midfield, with deals for other areas of the side on the cards as well.
So once Rice’s exit is signed off and the first payment from the Gunners arrives it should give the Hammers more room to start putting money on the table for incoming business.
In other West Ham news, the club have learned it will cost them just £15m to sign an international trophy-winning captain.
About The Author
