Arsenal are set to go all out to bolster Mikel Arteta's squad in the summer with the signing of West Ham star Declan Rice. football.london reported in January that the Gunners are prioritising a move for the England international for next season.
Rice enters the final year of his contract at the London Stadium in the summer and is expected to seal a move away in the summer. The box-to-box midfielder has publicly expressed his desire to play in the Champions League and has been linked with a move to some of Premier League's biggest teams.
However, the Hammers are expected to play hard ball throughout the summer transfer window and will demand a fee in the region of £100million - especially if they retain their Premier League status. Arsenal have constructed a list of cheaper alternatives to Rice - as they did in January by signing Jorginho after failing with Brighton's Moises Caicedo - following the near-British record valuation.
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Rice has remained tight-lipped on his future in recent months with his focus solely on helping David Moyes' side remain in the Premier League. However, West Ham are now laying the foundations for their summer plans and are plotting a move for Rice's replacement.
Eintracht Frankfurt star - and former Arsenal target - Djibril Sow has been identified as their ideal replacement after head of recruitment, Rob Newman, watched the Swiss international in last weekend's clash with Borussia Dortmund.
That's according to The Sun, who claim Sow has been on the Hammers' radar for some time now after he impressed Moyes in last season's Europa League semi-final.
Like Rice, Sow is about to enter the final year of his contract at the Bundesliga outfit and could be allowed to leave for as little as £20m due to the likelihood of Frankfurt missing out on European football this season.
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