Arsenal has submitted a third bid for West Ham’s Declan Rice worth £105m, which, if accepted, would make him the most expensive British player ever. The record was previously held by Gareth Bale, who left Tottenham for Real Madrid for £85m in 2013 until Jude Bellingham moved to the Bernabeu from Borussia Dortmund for an initial £88.5m earlier this month.
Declan Rice hugging Arsenal Coach, Mikel Arteta. Source: Getty The race for Rice has dramatically intensified, with Arsenal’s third offer (£100 million plus £5 million in add-ons) comfortably exceeding their previous two bids this summer. The Gunners have already had two offers turned down for Rice, while Manchester City have had one rejected. City’s offer of a £90m package, with £10m of it paid in add-ons, was rebuffed by West Ham on Tuesday morning. Rice has indicated a preference to move to Arsenal this summer, where he would be a key part of Mikel Arteta’s project. The chance to play for Pep Guardiola’s Treble winners will be attractive, though, and City are in the market for new midfielders after captain Ilkay Gundogan joined Barcelona for free.
West Ham United’s Declan Rice celebrates scoring his side’s first goal during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Leeds United at London Stadium. Source: Getty Rice joined West Ham’s academy from Chelsea as a teenager and has been ever-present since his breakthrough season in 2017-18. He took over the captaincy after Mark Noble’s retirement last year. The 24-year-old played 50 games in all competitions last season as West Ham finished 14th in the Premier League, before winning the Europa Conference League in Prague. Rice has played more than 200 games for West Ham and also earned 41 caps for England since his international debut in 2019.
Folarin Balogun unveiled as a USMNT player. Source: Twitter Arsenal are already preparing for life without Balogun and the funds could be spent before he even leaves. The Gunners have agreed to a £65m fee for Kai Havertz from Chelsea who will compete with Gabriel Jesus up top. Eddie Nketiah also remains at the Emirates and is expected to fill in as a squad member. That leaves no space for Balogun, who is keen on being the main man at another club. Football fans eagerly await the outcome of this transfer saga, as Balogun’s next destination could have a significant impact on his career trajectory. Whether he stays in the Premier League or moves abroad, the talented striker’s journey is set to continue with high expectations surrounding his future performances. 
Mikel Arteta thanking Arsenal fans after a match. Source: Reuters Following the departure of Christophe Galtier, PSG are in search of a new manager. Several names, including Jose Mourinho and Julian Nagelsmann, have been linked to the position, with Arteta also reportedly considered a candidate. Arteta had previously played for PSG during a loan spell from Barcelona between 2000 and 2002, making a potential return to Paris an intriguing prospect. Reacting to claims of alleged interest from PSG, Mikel Arteta told Spanish outlet Marca; “I can only say that I am happy at Arsenal. I feel loved, valued by our owners, Stan and Josh [Kroenke], and I have a lot to do here at this club. I am happy and tremendously grateful to be at Arsenal.” While Arteta appeared to rule out an immediate move to PSG, he hinted that a return to his home country of Spain could be a possibility in the future. He said; “Spain is my country. I have been away for many years and at some point, it could be an option to return to the league and have other experiences. But not now.” 
Arsenal players celebrating a goal against Wolves. Source: Reuters Arteta also said that he is pleased to have helped Arsenal ‘regain their soul’ following a difficult period in the club’s history. He added; “It started three years ago. I was Pep [Guardiola]’s assistant at [Manchester] City, we were playing Arsenal and I could see that the soul of the club had been lost. “There was no enjoyment, no feeling. I knew there was the option of, soon after, being in the other dugout and I knew that this club is so big that we had to connect the team with the fans. “It has been hard to do and undo… but now I feel happy. We have a clear identity, there is unity and we are full of energy. That’s the greatest thing. From top to bottom, everyone is pushing in the same direction. We give the fans something to dream about and be proud of. And now, we have to win more.” 
Kai Havertz in Chelsea’s home jersey. Source: Getty The clubs have also reached an agreement in principle that will allow the player to have a medical. Havertz would be Arsenal’s second-most expensive signing after they paid a club-record fee of around 72 million pounds for Ivory Coast forward Nicolas Pepe in 2019. Germany international Havertz was signed by Chelsea on a five-year contract in 2020 for around 71 million pounds after two prolific seasons with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen. At Chelsea, he won the Champions League in his first season, scoring the winner in the 2021 final against Manchester City. Played in several positions in the front line and midfield, Havertz scored 14 goals in the 2021-22 campaign but he netted only nine times last season as Chelsea struggled to score under three different managers and finished 12th in the table. 
Arsenal’s coach, Mikel Arteta. Source: Getty Chelsea are looking to offload players ahead of next season after spending over 600 million euros ($655.74 million) on new signings since they were bought last year by an investment group led by American businessman Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. They’ve also agreed to £30m deal with Manchester City for Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic, 29. Another midfielder, France international N’Golo Kante, 32, has agreed to sign for Saudi Arabian champions Al-Ittihad when his contract expires at the end of June. Arsenal finished second champions Manchester City and have qualified for the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign. The north London club are also looking to strengthen their midfield with West Ham United’s Declan Rice among their main targets. 
Jurrien Timber pictured on duty with the Netherlands this month. Source: Getty Arsenal are also attempting to buy the midfielders Declan Rice and Roméo Lavia and had an £80m offer for Rice rejected by West Ham last week. Arsenal intends to move quickly to secure Rice, with Manchester City monitoring the situation as they await a decision from Ilkay Gündogan on whether he will extend his stay. Arsenal are in negotiations with Southampton and Lavia’s camp over the Belgium international. Manchester United are also interested but their priority is to land Mason Mount from Chelsea, who are keeping an eye on Lavia’s situation. Manchester City, the 19-year-old’s previous club, would get a percentage of any fee and have a £40m buyback clause next summer if he stays at Southampton. Timber made 47 appearances in all competitions for Ajax last season, including all six of their games in the Champions League group stage. He helped the Amsterdam side to win the Eredivisie title in 2021 and 2022. He has 15 caps for the Netherlands, playing in four of their 2022 World Cup matches as the Dutch reached the quarter-finals. 
Chelsea’s forward, Kai Harvertz at a home match. Source: Getty Kai Havertz emerged as a surprise target for Premier League runners-up Arsenal as Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his attacking options this summer. Arteta wants to strengthen his squad at the Emirates Stadium as he eyes another title challenge and prepares for Arsenal’s return to the Champions League. Arsenal has made signing a new midfielder their priority during this window and remain optimistic about landing West Ham captain Declan Rice despite seeing an opening offer rejected by the Hammers. It is understood that Chelsea is willing to sell Havertz to Arsenal for the right price, as the German has two years remaining on his contract and has not indicated a desire to sign an extension. Havertz earns around £250,000 a week at Chelsea and Arsenal are believed to be willing to match that salary to take the Germany international to the Emirates. 
Arsenal coach, Mikel Arteta. Source: Getty With personal terms likely to be a formality, it now remains to be seen whether or not Arsenal can find an agreement with Chelsea for Havertz, as they also negotiate with West Ham United over Declan Rice. The Gunners are hoping that Havertz’s refusal to extend his stay at Chelsea beyond 2025 will bring the fee down. Havertz’s versatility is appealing to Arsenal boss, Arteta who can choose to play him up top, behind the striker, or as a roaming box-to-box midfielder. Arsenal have had an opening bid turned down for Kai Havertz, as @NathGissing first reported. #AFC will return and Havertz is very open to the move. Arsenal optimistic Chelsea won’t hold out for £75m. Talks quite positive despite the rejection.🔵 pic.twitter.com/086YlMGcgo — Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) June 16, 2023 The 2021 Champions League winner joined Chelsea as an attacking midfielder but has often been tasked with leading the line at Stamford Bridge. In his three seasons at Chelsea, Havertz has scored 32 goals in 139 games, including the winner in the Champions League final success over Manchester City two years ago. 
Declan Rice with the Europa trophy. Source: Getty With two years remaining on his Hammers deal, Rice has made it clear he wants to take his career to the next level. The Gunners made the midfielder their priority summer signing and were facing competition from the German giants, with Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel reportedly speaking to the midfielder in recent weeks. However, Bayern Munich withdrew their interest following a meeting of board members on Tuesday, June 13. 
Declan Rice celebrating with his West Ham teammates. Source: Getty German transfer guru Florian Plettenberg has now disclosed that Bayern has decided against making a firm approach. He tweeted; “News #Rice: NO transfer! Bayern has decided today not to submit an offer after all – confirmed. It was the clear trend for days and as reported on Friday, because Rice became more and more expensive. He’s on verge to join @Arsenal now! First call BILD. @SkySportDE.” News #Rice: NO transfer! Bayern has decided today not to submit an offer after all – confirmed ✅ ➡️ It was the clear trend for days and as reported on Friday, because Rice became more and more expensive. He’s on verge to join @Arsenal now! First call BILD. @SkySportDE 🏴 pic.twitter.com/AXLFKWCnPa — Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) June 13, 2023 With Bayern Munich out of the picture, Arsenal has been handed the opportunity to sign Declan Rice. Manchester United and Chelsea have previously shown an interest but Rice looks set to move to the Emirates Stadium with Arsenal closing in on a deal. West Ham have previously set an asking price of £120m for Rice, though the Gunners are hopeful a deal worth around £100m will be agreed. Any deal will smash Arsenal’s previous club-record outlay of £72million on flop winger Nicolas Pepe. Rice has been expected to leave this summer and last week West Ham chairman David Sullivan confirmed the midfielder was promised a big move. 
Cancelo at a match for Manchester City. Source: Getty Cancelo became an important player for Bayern Munich, but the Bundesliga have not made the deal permanent having been reluctant to meet the £60 million buy-out clause included in his loan contract. The German outfit opted not to activate their option to buy the 29-year-old defender, allowing Arsenal, Real Madrid, and Barcelona into the race to sign him. Arsenal has now emerged as a prospective candidate that could sign Joao Cancelo. The London club’s coach, Arteta previously worked with the player during his time with Man City. Arteta raided Etihad last summer, signing Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, and could be set to do the same again this year. Both Jesus and Zinchenko helped raise the Gunners’ performance levels drastically as they challenged City for the Premier League title. There is a concern at the Emirates Stadium that the Premier League champions may be reluctant to do business with Arsenal this summer after seeing the positive impact Jesus and Zinchenko had in transforming the north London outfit into title challengers. Despite Arsenal engaging in early talks for the player, Cancelo’s preference has been revealed to be a move to Spain, with Real Madrid and Barcelona the leading candidates. 
Cancelo receiving instruction from Pep Guardiola. Source: Getty A German news outlet reported that Cancelo wishes to join either of the Spanish giants in a deal that could be up to €50 million (£43 million). City is said to be reluctant to sanction another loan deal for the 29-year-old, with the player’s contract expiring in four years having agreed to a two-year extension on his original six-year deal just last summer. Barcelona’s financial situation means they will need to move on a number of players this summer as they prioritize bringing Lionel Messi back to the Nou Camp. Madrid are keen on strengthening their defensive options but are focusing on signing a replacement for Karim Benzema for now. It is also alleged that the Spanish club is prioritizing moves for Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe, and Harry Kane. This could leave Arsenal with the ability to make a swift move to secure a deal for Cancelo. Although, midfield reinforcements are set to be a bigger priority, with a big-money move to bring Declan Rice to the club thought to be a priority.