West Ham United ‘unhappy’ after record-breaking £105m Arsenal bid for Declan Rice tops Manchester City – Jacob Steinberg

Negotiations between West Ham and Arsenal are “ongoing” after the Gunners tabled a third official bid for Declan Rice totalling £105million, Jacob Steinberg reports in The Guardian.

Manchester City’s £90m with £80m guaranteed Monday night (26 June) offer was previously the highest but was rejected as quickly as Arsenal’s first two bids.

Mikel Arteta’s side have now gone to nine-figures, improving their bid significantly, but the race is not yet over as the Hammers are reportedly “unhappy” with the payment structure of the Tuesday night proposal.

Steinburg reports: “However the bid is yet to be accepted by West Ham, even though it would set a record for a British player. They are unhappy with the payment structure proposed and, while they have not rejected the offer, talks between the clubs are ongoing.

“West Ham have been holding out for £100m and are expecting City, who have had a £90m bid rejected, to come in with a new offer on Wednesday. One source suggested Arsenal may need to raise their offer to £110m to see off City.”

t looks like the overall number has at least earned Arsenal the benefit of negotiations rather than a flat rejection, but depending on how the talks go that could still follow.

The increase from the Emirates is sizeable but if the Irons aren’t pleased with how the bid has been laid out the assumption has to be that it is money that will take some years to arrive.

Huge fees being paid over a number of seasons isn’t uncommon but it has been a running theme of this race that the club doesn’t want to be waiting a long time to receive whatever windfall they end up with.

In what is turning increasingly into a game of cat and mouse between the sides that finished in first and second last season the latest offer is likely to bring a response from the Etihad.

Just as the first official bid from City didn’t improve on Arsenal’s overall number but did change the structure, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see the champions try the same move again.

The price is certainly getting up to around what West Ham have been waiting for but it is still unclear who is going to come out on top in a race where the Gunners have had the upper hand for some time.

In other West Ham news, the club is now in transfer talks to bring an international midfielder in as one is on the way out.