West Ham United have midfielders in mind to replace Declan Rice in case he ends up sealing a transfer to Arsenal, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Writing in today’s edition of his exclusive CaughtOffside column, Romano explained that Arsenal have submitted a third bid for Rice and are very confident, with the Hammers seemingly already making their plans for how to reinvest the money they get for the England international.
One name on West Ham’s radar is apparently former Chelsea loanee Denis Zakaria, who has returned to Juventus after a difficult spell at Stamford Bridge.
The Switzerland international has shown some promise in his career so far, even if he never got much of a run of games in his single season at Chelsea.
Another player being considered by West Ham is Fulham’s Joao Palhinha, according to Romano, though he adds that they’re not keen on selling their Portuguese star.
“The big news to start with is Arsenal and Declan Rice. As expected, the Gunners have submitted a third bid for the West Ham United captain, offering £100m plus £5m in add-ons on Tuesday night,” Romano said.
“Arsenal really hope to get it done, Mikel Arteta is doing his best along with Edu. It’s also up to Manchester City now, let’s see if they bid again or leave the race.
“There will still be things to clarify, but Arsenal are very confident. It’s important to clarify that West Ham don’t have a precise price tag, but it’s the structure of the deal and payment terms that are important for West Ham. Arsenal feel small changes to the £105m bid can make it happen.”
On West Ham’s targets, he added: “For West Ham, this situation of two top clubs bidding for their star player is surely what they wanted.
“Some plans are already in place for how to spend the money on replacing Rice – for sure they want new midfielders this summer, with former Chelsea man Denis Zakaria an option but not the only one. It’s not that advanced at this stage.
“They also like Joao Palhinha but Fulham will try their best to keep him.”