Arsenal could see their transfer advantage in the race to sign Declan Rice lessen following West Ham's fresh stance. The Gunners sent an official £80 million bid to the Hammers for their captain earlier this week but saw that immediately rejected, with a second offer now being prepared.
The 24-year-old is the priority transfer for Mikel Arteta this summer, as football.london understands, however other clubs are in the race. Arsenal are currently leading the way but Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are all still keen to acquire Rice although Bayern Munich are no longer in pursuit of the player after conceding to the fact he wants to remain in England.
While he is Arsenal's main target, a number of other factors are affecting Chelsea and Man City particularly, in their hopes to sign Rice. Mateo Kovacic looks set to join Pep Guardiola's side imminently but the future of Ilkay Gundogan remains in the balance with the European champions subsequently asking about the status of Rice on Friday, as per Fabrizio Romano.
Chelsea meanwhile, according to The Guardian, have pleaded with West Ham to delay their decision over selling Rice early on this summer. And the latest news coming out of east London certainly benefits the Blues and their Rice request with a clear ultimatum handed to Arsenal.
As reported by the Daily Mail, Hammers insiders say they are in no rush to sell and, unless the Gunners bid high, they are happy to wait to see what other offers are made. It is also noted that Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea and Man City have all registered their interest with West Ham sources revealing on Sunday that they expect bids to arrive from the interested parties within the next seven days.
As for Man United, Luke Shaw appears to be putting in a significant effort to get Rice to choose Old Trafford if his social media activity and transfer comments are anything to go by.
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Ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia, which is being contested at Old Trafford, the England squad are also training in Manchester at Carrington, which saw Shaw posing for photos with Harry Kane and Rice before posting those pictures to his Instagram story with the caption, "Carrington Tour" (eyes emoji).
In an England press conference, he also hinted at his work regarding transfers going on behind the scenes. "There's a few," Shaw replied on Sunday when asked who he has been tapping up for United. "Of course, it is just a bit of banter really. I don't know too much about what's going on."
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