Declan Rice’s move to Arsenal set to be confirmed before squad leave for US tour
After months of speculation, Declan Rice’s move to Arsenal is finally set to go through after the Hammers belatedly received paperwork from the Gunners to complete the deal. After seeing two bids rejected, Arsenal agreed a British record deal of £100million plus £5m in add-ons for the England international at the end of June.
Discussions then moved onto the structure of those payments with a breakthrough reached nine days ago. Since then, however, there has been no announcement from either side. Reports have suggested West Ham have been left furious with the delay which has begun to impact their own efforts to strengthen their squad this summer.
Hammers boss David Moyes hinted at his own frustration on Thursday. ‘Until it’s done we can’t plan anything’ he said at a press conference. ‘Everybody knows the situation, we’re expecting something to happen. I think you (Sky Sports) said it was done two weeks ago and it’s still not done.’
West Ham receive final paperwork from Arsenal
However, Sky Sports report West Ham now received the final paperwork and have signed the deal that will allow Rice to complete his move to north London. Arsenal are expected to announce their club record signing before they depart for their preseason tour of the US on Sunday.
Rice will become the club’s third signing of the summer following the arrival of Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber from Chelsea and Ajax respectively. Timber’s move was confirmed on Friday with the versatile defender set to where the no12 shirt.
‘We’re really excited that Jurrien has joined us,’ Mikel Arteta said. ‘He is a versatile young defender, who will fit into our system and provide our squad with so much added quality. Jurrien is a young player, but has already achieved so much. He has experienced what it’s like to go to a major international tournament on more than one occasion, as well as the trophies he has won with Ajax. We look forward to welcoming and integrating Jurrien into the squad.’
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