Arsenal's record-breaking £105million transfer for Declan Rice could be finalised by the start of next week, according to a new report. The Gunners reached an agreement in principle with West Ham on Wednesday after sending their third proposal which hit the triple-figure mark which also took Manchester City out of the race for his signature.
Both previous offers from Emirates Stadium did not go beyond the Hammers' £100million valuation and were therefore rejected. The third bid, despite being over that mark, was also met with some hesitancy because the structure of the payment terms was not favourable from West Ham's perspective.
However, Man City officially pulling out of the race led to negotiations then taking place regarding that offer with West Ham said to be pushing for the up front fee to be paid in full by the start of 2025.
Add-ons and parting ways with the full fee over a lengthy amount of time was certainly Arsenal's favoured method of payment heading into talks, and while West Ham wanted those extra payments to be achievable and to receive the bulk of the fee quickly, a compromise looks to have been met.
According to the Sun, West Ham expect the final details of the move to be sorted by Monday. Signing Rice has been Mikel Arteta's clear priority and he now looks set to finally complete that goal and bring the 24-year-old to north London.
The bulk of negotiations has involved the £100million up front fee with West Ham fighting hard to ensure they got what they wanted. Disagreements over payment terms were never seen as a major concern by either over the move potentially collapsing, but it will be a relief for both that this transfer saga is close to being resolved.
READ MORE: Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: Declan Rice agreement, Windfall secured, £40m Timber deal
Personal terms will not be an issue in the slightest as joining the Gunners has always been Rice's preference. With the England international now expected to follow in the footsteps of Kai Havertz by completing a move to Arsenal from another Premier League team, attention will likely switch to Jurrien Timber and outgoings.
As per, the Evening Standard, both the north Londoners and Ajax are keen to wrap up a deal for Timber worth an initial £36million and talks are expected to accelerate this weekend. Granit Xhaka's €15million (£13million) move to Bayer Leverkusen could be confirmed in the coming days with two midfield replacements now on their way into the club, although his planned exit has taken a fresh twist
According to the Mirror, the Gunners may have changed their stance on the agreed keen to fetch around £20million. Kieran Tierney and Folarin Balogun will also face crunch talks in the coming days with both their futures up for debate, although a summer departure appears as most the most likely outcome.
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