Author: Amrit Santlani
Declan Rice could be one of the biggest names to jump ship in the summer transfer window, with two of England’s biggest clubs fighting tooth and nail to land the West Ham United midfielder.
Just a few days ago, it looked like a foregone conclusion, with Arsenal leading the race for Rice. However, Man City’s entry could complicate matters, as the three-time champions try to make a late effort to convince the England international.
Arsenal’s recent offer of 90 million pounds was turned down by West Ham, a team that would benefit from City’s interest, as it would further increase the price of a player who is likely to become the second most expensive Englishman after Jack Grealish.
Although Pep Guardiola’s side have players like Rodri, Mateo Kovacic and Kalvin Phillips, they have the advantage of being one of the best clubs in the world, having won the league title three times last season.
However, the final word will be Rice’s, and it would certainly be difficult to turn down City’s attractive project, although Arsenal are not far behind.
Last season, Rice won possession more times (334) and made more interceptions (63) than any other player in the Premier League. To date, he has made 245 Premier League appearances and scored 15 goals.
The England international is likely to struggle to compete with Rodri at City and, with Arsenal looking to sign Kai Havertz, it’s hard to imagine the former being deployed in an advanced role.
Rice could be a very shrewd replacement for someone like Granit Xhaka, who is about to leave for Bayer Leverkusen.
So Arsenal will try to entice the midfielder by promising him more minutes, while the Cityzens will try to promise a guarantee of titles, even if Rice may or may not become a guaranteed starter, having to fight with the likes of Kovacic, Phillips, Rodri and even Phil Foden.