Arsenal want to finalise the transfers of Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber before they fly to America next week for their pre-season tour, according to the Evening Standard.
football.london reported back in January that West Ham United captain Rice was the north Londoners' priority target for central midfield, with Mikel Arteta a huge admirer of the player. Since then, Arteta's side has seen two bids for the 24-year-old rejected by the Hammers before the two clubs agreed on a £105 million fee in principle last week.
The structure of the payments still need to be ironed out before the move officially is finalised, with West Ham understood to want a decent amount of the initial £100m up front, and this is the final sticking point. Meanwhile, the Gunners are also advancing in their pursuit of Ajax defender Timber.
Arsenal had been in contact with the Dutch international's representatives for months before news broke of their interest a fortnight ago, with a deal expected to be done for around £40m. And the aforementioned report from the Standard has claimed that the Gunners would like both deals finalised before they fly to the United States for their pre-season tour.
Arteta's side are set to fly to America on July 16, taking on the MLS All-Stars, Manchester United and Barcelona in friendly matches. But first, they will play a friendly against Nurnberg in Germany next Thursday.
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Arsenal took on Nurnberg last year, when Gabriel Jesus marked his debut with a brace in a 5-3 victory. It was a hugely successful pre-season for the north Londoners last time around, with highlights being a 4-0 win over Chelsea and a 6-0 thrashing of Sevilla.
