Arsenal are interested in signing West Ham United captain Declan Rice, 90min can confirm.
The 24-year-old has repeatedly been linked with a move away from London Stadium, with Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool all known to be admirers of the England international.
Until now there’s been no suggestion of Arsenal being keen to sign Rice, but 90min understands that the success of the Gunners’ Premier League campaign has allowed Mikel Arteta and the club’s hierarchy to revisit their list of potential targets.
Barring a collapse in the second half of the season, Arsenal look to be shoo-in qualifiers for next season’s Champions League and there’s every chance they could win the Premier League title – Sunday’s 2-0 win over north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur increased their advantage over reigning champions Man City to eight points.
Rice, meanwhile, finds himself at the wrong end of the table with a West Ham side who have struggled to get back into games after going a goal down. David Moyes’ side have lost 12 of the 19 Premier League games they’ve played so far this season, despite spending a huge amount of money in the summer, and are in the relegation zone with just 15 goals and points to their name.
The arrivals of Lucas Paqueta, Gianluca Scamacca and Nayef Aguerd were meant to solidify the Hammers’ chances of regularly qualifying for European football – as well as help persuade Rice to extend his contract – but their £150m+ outlay has failed to deliver any on-field results.
West Ham’s struggles almost certainly mean that Rice, whose deal at the club runs until 2024 with the option of a further year, will look to leave this summer in order to further his career – he has previously expressed his desire to play in the Champions League.
Arsenal are considering a number of targets as they look to strengthen their midfield options, and sources have told 90min that Rice is very much on the club’s radar.
Chelsea also remain interested in taking Rice back to Stamford Bridge – they released him from their academy as a 14-year-old – after big-spending Todd Boehly tried, and failed, to make him one of his first signings after succeeding Roman Abramovich as Blues owner.
West Ham have always maintained that any interested party will need to pay at least £100m to sign Rice, though their bargaining power will continue to diminish as they battle to stay in the Premier League.
Source: 90min.com