Declan Rice, Arsenal Deal Not Yet Completed, Says Transfer Guru

West Ham United star Declan Rice has long been linked to a transfer away from his longtime club.

While there have been a lot of teams pining for his services, sources are warning fans from expecting him to move to Arsenal.

In an exclusive interview with Caught Offside, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano opened up about the Rice-to-Arsenal rumors ahead of the transfer window opening on Wednesday, June 14.

“We are still waiting for Arsenal to submit an official proposal and then we will understand more. Bayern (Munich) wants him, Thomas Tuchel is a big fan of the player since he was the Chelsea manager. But the reality is that the player wants to continue in England, continue in the Premier League, especially London,” Romano stated.

“This is why for Declan Rice, Bayern are there but they know it is on the player, not on them; they are prepared to attack the situation but they are still waiting for the player and now, Arsenal are ahead of all the other clubs for Declan Rice.”

Recent reports suggested that the Hammers are expected to receive “more than £100 million ($125.6 million)” from the Gunners to acquire the defensive-minded midfielder, and it will be significantly more than the transfer record for Arsenal which they set in 2019 with £72 million ($90 million) for Nicolas Pepe.

Furthermore, they claim that Arsenal’s assertiveness in trying to get Rice has put them ahead of Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Manchester United.

Fans have even grown convinced that whispers of Rice’s move to Arsenal is on the horizon after the England men’s national soccer team YouTube channel posted a video of the team where Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Aaron Ramsdale were the first to greet and congratulate him for leading West Ham United to victory as a captain.

Rice has been a crucial contributor to the England national team’s success, and to his current club for that matter, thanks to his ability to easily shut down the offense’s plays while also being quick-witted enough to put himself in positions to create opportunities for the offense.

Bringing the former Chelsea youth player into the fold is viewed by many as the answer to Arsenal’s problems at midfield after they struggled to close out the season on top of the English Premier League table, conceding the title to Manchester City late in the year after a string of poor performances.

With the summer transfer window opening very soon, the rumor mill is set to put out even more updates on soccer’s biggest names moving to different clubs.