Arsenal reportedly held initial talks with West Ham United over the potential transfer of Declan Rice last week.
The Gunners seem to be pushing ahead with their pursuit of Rice, with some negotiations already taking place over the structure of the fee, despite West Ham previously indicating they wouldn’t begin listening to offers for the England international until the end of the season, according to Football Transfers.
Rice would be a superb signing for Arsenal, and fans will hope these talks can progress well, so a deal can be done as soon as possible.
The 24-year-old could be an upgrade on Thomas Partey in that defensive midfield role, and it also seems a good idea to have some younger players in that area of the pitch as both Granit Xhaka and Jorginho are turning 31 and 32 later this year, respectively.
Rice could undoubtedly be expensive, but Football Transfers reports that Folarin Balogun could be included as part of the deal as AFC try to get his asking price down.
Balogun has had a fine season on loan at Ligue 1 side Reims and one imagines there’ll be plenty of interest in him from Premier League clubs this summer.
If Arsenal can’t find a place for Balogun in their first-team, it could be sensible to make use of him in a deal such as this.
Now that Arsenal have failed they shouldn’t try and buy a cheap second rate alternative to Rice or else they will continue to be also rans against the big teams . Every team that wants to compete wants Rice and so the price will be high ( 120-150 million ) , but what’s it worth to be winners rather than losers ?