Arsenal's primary target for the summer transfer window is West Ham United captain Declan Rice, football.london understands.
The Gunners are keen to bolster their midfield options, with manager Mikel Arteta identifying the England international as the perfect candidate to help close the gap to Premier League champions Manchester City. On Sunday, talkSPORT reported that West Ham had identified Fulham star Palhinha as a potential replacement for Rice, claiming that the Portuguese holding midfielder has a release clause in his contract at Craven Cottage.
However, Fulham vice-chairman and director of football operations Tony Khan quickly took to social media to dismiss these reports. "There is no release clause," Khan wrote on Twitter in reply to the report.
Ajax's Edson Alvarez has also been mooted as a potential Rice replacement for David Moyes' side with the Guardian reporting on Friday that Arsenal remained 'the most likely destination' for the Hammers captain. football.london also understands that the Gunners are confident they have a strong offer for the 24-year-old but feel that it will ultimately come down to the player to decide amid interest from a host of other top European sides, including German champions Bayern Munich and Manchester United.
The north London outfit are keen to avoid a bidding war and they’ve demonstrated in the past that they are willing to walk away from priority targets like Lisandro Martinez and Mykhailo Mudryk - who eventually joined United and Chelsea respectively. Arsenal are now preparing an official offer for the talented midfielder, having waited until after West Ham's Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina as a mark of respect.
Rice refused to close the door on the possibility of staying at the London Stadium but his club's chairman David Sullivan didn't take as coy an approach. Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: "I think it has to be [Rice's final game for West Ham].
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"We promised him he could go. He set his heart on going. You can’t ask for a man who has committed more to us this season.
"In due course, he has to get on and we have to get a replacement – or several replacements. It’s not something we want to happen.
"We offered him £200,000-a-week 18 months ago. He turned it down. It’s cost him £10million to stay at West Ham in that time (in lost wages). And he wants to go. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there."
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