The future of Declan Rice has been at the forefront of the summer transfer window in the opening week. Arsenal have seemed favourites to sign the West Ham captain but have already had two bids turned down.
The Gunners reluctance to meet West Ham's £100million valuation of the midfielder has allowed Manchester City to accelerate their interest. football.london understands the treble-winners will make an official offer for the 24-year-old in the coming days.
Rice has been made Mikel Arteta's priority signing for over six months now and is expected to play a big role in the north Londoners' side next season, should he sign. Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey are both steering towards an exit this summer meaning Arsenal will require reinforcements in the middle of the park.
City's emergence in the race leaves Arsenal at risk of missing out on the England international. According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the midfielder is open to any move, leaving the door for both teams.
Amid all the talk surrounding his future, Rice has sparked another hint over his future on social media. West Ham fans were quick to spot that the midfielder had made changes to his Twitter account on Thursday, possibly hinting at his desire to leave his boyhood club.
Rice's new Twitter cover picture is a graphic containing various images of him through the years of his West Ham career. He has made over 200 Premier League appearances for the Hammers after making his debut at the end of the 2016/17 campaign.
READ MORE: Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: Barella interest, Partey 'priority', Man City enter Rice race
Earlier this season, Rice admitted his desire to compete in the UEFA Champions League after speaking to his international teammates about the elite competition. “One hundred per cent I want to play in the Champions League,” he said. “For the last two or three years I’ve been saying that.
“I’ve been playing consistently well for my club and I feel like I really want to keep pushing. I see my friends here who are playing Champions League and for big trophies.
“You only get one career and at the end you want to look back at what you’ve won and the biggest games you’ve played in.”
