FILE PHOTO: Declan Rice in emotional West Ham goodbye as Arsenal lead transfer race. PICTURE: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
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0 LONDON: Arsenal have made an improved bid worth up to £105million for West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.
The offer, which Arsenal hope will fend off rivals Manchester City, comprises an initial fee of £100m and an extra £5m in add-ons. It will be a record fee for a British player if the move materialises, according to The Athletic’s football correspondent, David Ornstein.
Arsenal had a club-record proposal worth up to £90million — £75m plus £15m in add-ons — turned down by West Ham earlier this month. Manchester City subsequently lodged a formal offer of an initial £80million with an extra £10m in add-ons, but that was also rejected.
Arsenal have now upped their bid to try and secure manager Mikel Arteta’s top summer target. Rice’s contract at West Ham expires in 2024, with an option for a one-year extension.
But West Ham chairman David Sullivan said after the club’s Europa Conference League triumph that he expected the England international to have played his last game for the club, adding that he “wanted to go”.
Rice has made 245 appearances for West Ham since making his debut in 2017.
Rice does not leap into challenges at the first sign of danger. Instead, he patrols the midfield, maintains good positional discipline, and then engages in his defensive actions at the opportune moments.
This is reflected in the numbers, where Rice’s figure of 4.2 “true” tackles — denoting tackles plus challenges lost plus fouls committed — per 1,000 opponent touches places him just 62nd among a 69-strong group of defensive and central midfielders with 900-plus Premier League minutes played last season.
Crucially, on the occasions Rice does put a foot in, his technique ensures he will often be the one to come out on top. Nobody in that same pool of 69 players has a better “true” tackle win rate than his 70 per cent.
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