Manchester City prepare bid for Declan Rice as Arsenal face fight to land West Ham midfielder

Manchester City are expected to make an offer for Declan Rice which will be an improvement on Arsenal’s latest bid, LondonWorld understands.

Rice is a long-term target for City and Pep Guardiola’s side are now ramping up their efforts to sign the West Ham midfielder after losing Ilkay Gundogan to Barcelona on a free transfer.

Guardiola has signed Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea but sees Rice as the missing piece in the jigsaw to bolster City’s midfield ahead of the 2023/24 season.

Arsenal have so far had two formal offers rejected for their priority target Rice, although they are still around £10million away from West Ham’s £100million valuation of the player.

Formal negotiations between Arsenal and West Ham began after the Hammers’ UEFA Conference League final victory, with owner David Sullivan revealing that he ‘promised’ Rice he could leave the club this summer.

Meanwhile, the Gunners are finalising a £65million deal for Chelsea’s Kai Havertz, while they are closing in on a move for Ajax defender Jurrien Timber.