West Ham have formally rejected the offer amounting to a total of £90 million (£80m straight up and another £10m through add-ons) which they received from Manchester City for the services of Declan Rice, according to multiple sources.
The 24-year-old West Ham captain is being strongly pursued by Arsenal as well, and the Gunners, believed to be Rice s preferred destination at this points, have already had two bids turned down.
City have just lost their own captain Ilkay Gundogan has turned down their proposal of a new contract and has already completed a free transfer to Barcelona, and there s a real possibility of Bernardo Silva leaving for Saudi Arabia. Top-level midfield reinforcements are obviously of vital importance for the 2022/23 treble winners, but Premier League runners-up Arsenal are in a very similar situation. Granit Xhaka is practically gone, and recent reports claim Thomas Partey might be the next one to leave.
The race for Rice s signature is about to get really hot.
