Man City have thrown a spanner in the works of Arsenal’s pursuit of West Ham’s Declan Rice as the Premier League champions have declared their interest in the England international.
The midfielder is certain to leave West Ham this summer and has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal over the last few months but on Thursday, it was reported by The Athletic’s David Ornstein that Man City have serious interest and are expected to make an offer for the 24-year-old soon.
However, Manchester Evening News are now reporting some good news for Arsenal fans; they declare that although City are interested in Rice, they are yet to turn it into a bid as they are weighing up what their midfield should look like next season.
Ilkay Gundogan has left the Champions League winners and could be followed by Bernardo Silva, while Mateo Kovacic is set to arrive from Chelsea. City are still working out how they want to progress from here and until then, there will be no offer for Rice.
Rice may want to join Arsenal even if Man City bid but the Premier League champions’ presence will worry the Gunners. Therefore, while the Manchester club are still deciding what to do, the North London outfit need to pounce and submit their final offer.
The Gunners so far have tried to get West Ham to lower their demands and their last bid of £90m was rejected by the Hammers as they hold out for £100m.
Arsenal need to match that soon before Man City come in and hijack their number-one target for this summer.