Arsenal are reportedly confident of beating rivals Chelsea to the summer transfer of West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice.
The England international is one of the finest midfielders in Europe on his day, and has shone for a number of years now in the Premier League, as well as with Gareth Southgate’s side in some big games in major tournaments.
It makes sense that Rice could now be on the move to a bigger club as he’ll want to be competing for trophies and playing in the Champions League, and it seems Arsenal are in a strong position.
According to the Times, the Gunners are confident about their chances of winning the race for Rice’s signature ahead of Chelsea, with the report adding that the 24-year-old could end up costing around £80million.
The Times also state that Arsenal could revive their interest in Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, with the Ecuador international another fine performer in the Premier League in the last year or so.
Granit Xhaka is not getting any younger, while Thomas Partey has had some trouble with injuries during his time at the Emirates Stadium, so there could be room to bring in both Rice and Caicedo in the summer.
It would be a big blow for Chelsea to miss out on Rice as he was in their academy as a youngster, but they have just invested big money on Enzo Fernandez for that position.