Arsenal wait for Rice resolution before sealing £13m transfer; Arteta wants to break transfer record
Arsenal will wait until they have sealed a deal for Declan Rice before giving the green light to Granit Xhaka’s exit, according to reports.
Widespread reports have put Arsenal in the driving seat as they look to bring in the West Ham midfielder with Mikel Arteta looking to strengthen his squad.
The Gunners made their first bid of £80m plus add-ons yesterday, which was rejected by the Hammers, with Arsenal set to make a fresh offer soon.
There have been major hints that Treble winners Manchester City could enter the race for Rice with one report claiming that a bid from the Citizens would ‘blow Arsenal out of the water’.
The Daily Telegraph have also reported that a second ‘top club’ will make a bid for Rice in the ‘next 24 hours’ with the newspaper unaware of the identity of the team.
And now German publication Bild claim that Arsenal are ‘likely to sell’ Xhaka this summer but Bayer Leverkusen are ‘waiting for the first transfer domino’ to fall before making an offer.
Rice is the ‘domino’ that Bild are talking about with West Ham believed to be looking for as much as £110m for the England international and hope to start a bidding war between clubs.
It is not the first time Leverkusen have been linked with Xhaka and a bid of €15m (£13m) is ‘being considered’ once the Rice situation has been resolved.
There have been rumours that Arteta and Arsenal technical director want two midfielders, a centre-back, a right-back and a forward this summer.
And Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze fits into the forward category with Spanish website Fichajes claiming his performances have ‘attracted the attention of several top teams in the Premier League, including Arsenal’.
Arsenal are ‘attentive’ to the development of the 22-year-old at the La Liga side and ‘could bet on the arrival’ of the Nigeria international.
The Gunners have been told to pay €50m, which would be a club-record sale at Villarreal, if they want to land Chukwueze this summer with other Liverpool and Newcastle United among the other ‘main interested parties’.
Arteta has set the Arsenal hierarchy a target of completing their “really promising plan” for the summer transfer window as he strives for “excellence”.
“We have to seek excellence in everything that we touch and participate in so that it’s going to have a big impact at the club,” Arteta said at the end of May.
“In order to do that, we have a really promising plan.
“We may have to reflect a little bit, take a step back, make sure this is the right one and go again with more determination and hunger in the tummies to do even better.”
READ MORE: Arsenal add-ons for Rice revealed as ‘laughable’ Liverpool clauses make offer seem fair
