The Gunners have completed their first signing of the summer transfer window after England international Declan Rice was signed from West Ham on a record deal
West Ham have confirmed Declan Rice’s departure to Arsenal for a record British transfer fee. The England international is guaranteed £100m with the potential for an additional £5m.
It marks the end of months of negotiations in which Arsenal prevailed over rivals such as Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Chelsea.
Most recently, Manchester City were interested in signing the 24-year-old, offering around £90million for him, but decided to pull out after Arsenal signaled their intention to sign Rice for a record fee for a British player. .
Rice’s arrival ends his ten-year tenure at West Ham, for whom he made his debut in 2017. Since then he has made 245 senior appearances for the Hammers and captained David Moyes’ side as they won the Europa Conference League last month.
The 24-year-old is also an established England international with 43 caps for his country. He will join his Three Lions team-mates Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White and Emile Smith Rowe as Mikel Arteta continues to build a young England core in north London.
Rice is Arsenal’s third signing this summer after Kai Havertz joined Chelsea for £65million. The Gunners are set to continue to strengthen their squad in the coming weeks after signing Jurrien Timber from Ajax on Friday. Arsenal’s spending is likely to already be around £200m.
“West Ham United can confirm that an agreement has been reached for Declan Rice to leave the club for a record UK transfer fee,” West Ham United said in a statement.
Meanwhile, in a lengthy open message to fans, Rice said: “I wanted to speak to you personally and directly, from my heart, to share my thoughts now that my departure from West Ham United has been confirmed.
“The last few days and weeks have been such a whirlwind of emotions, but it’s important for me to have the opportunity to say goodbye and reflect on what has been such a special and memorable part of my life.
