West Ham have been conducting some important business of their own while Arsenal push to sign their captain Declan Rice this summer. After seeing two proposals rejected by the Hammers, Edu and Mikel Arteta finally compiled an offer worth £105million that was deemed suitable by the east Londoners and thus negotiations began.
A key part of those talks involved the payment structure with Arsenal keen to spread out the cost of what would become the new British transfer record. However, West Ham were intent on receiving the full £100million up front fee by the start of 2025.
Despite that clear difference, a compromise clearly appears to have been met with the Sun reporting that West Ham expect the final details of the move to be sorted by Monday. A further example that showed how close the deal is to being completed arrived when looking at the West Ham club website as purchasing a Rice shirt with the No.41 on the back is no longer possible as it has been removed from the page entirely.
Identifying replacements has likely already been conducted by those within London Stadium, but deciding upon exactly who to bring in as Rice's successor has taken a step forward. On Saturday afternoon, West Ham confirmed the appointment of Tim Steidten as the club’s new Technical Director.
Part of the club statement confirming his arrival read: "Steidten will be responsible for the Club's overarching player recruitment strategy and scouting department, working closely with Manager David Moyes and Sporting Director Mark Noble."
The former Bayer Leverkusen chief, who was also of interest to Tottenham, will therefore play a key role in the summer transfer window. Any decision surrounding Rice is now out of his hands though, with the Gunners resolving the final payment details of the move before scheduling a medical which could see the transfer announced as early as next week.
READ MORE: Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: Declan Rice 'agreed', Mbappe links, Jurrien Timber move
Attention is then expected to turn to Jurrien Timber with Ajax and Arsenal keen to wrap up his £40million move to Emirates Stadium. New deals for William Saliba and Reiss Nelson are also in the pipeline and could join the Rice and Timber transfer confirmation by also seeing their contract extensions announced next week.
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