Arsenal have a “very serious” interest in West Ham midfielder Declan Rice and will make an attempt to sign him in the summer transfer window.
While the Gunners managed to get the midfielder they desperately wanted in this closing week of the January transfer window in Italy international Jorginho, it appears they do have a longer-term interest in Rice, and are set to act on it come the summer.
Arsenal Transfer News – Declan Rice
After protracted negotiations for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, the Gunners eventually decided to walk away from a potential deal for the Ecuador international, instead settling for a cut-price move for Jorginho.
Despite bringing in the Italian, reshaping the midfield for the long-term remains high on the agenda for Edu and co at the Emirates, and recent weeks have suggested Rice is their priority target in the engine room (The Times).
According to The Guardian, West Ham are hoping to fetch more than £100m for their prized England midfielder when the summer transfer window opens.
What did Jones say about Arsenal’s move for Rice?
Now, Jones has indicated that Arsenal’s interest in the Hammers talisman is very much genuine, and that they will indeed make a push for him in the months to come.
He said: “The Declan Rice interest is very serious, I’m told. I was very doubtful about the authenticity of that rumour at first but I’ve checked it out several times with different sources and they are definitely going to have a crack at signing him.”
Declan Rice would be statement signing for Arsenal
Make no mistake about it, signing Rice at the Emirates would be a monumental statement of ambition and a real sign of how far things have come for the Gunners.
It was only last year that the north London side missed out on a place in the top four to their bitter rivals Tottenham and watched the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea spend big money on new signings.
Despite that, Arteta’s side have embarked on an impressive Premier League campaign, and it is because of that that they are even in the conversation to someone like Rice.
If they can manage to convince him to join in the summer it would lay down a marker that Arsenal mean serious business, and are willing to spend big to stay near the top of the table for the years to come.