Arsenal ‘quietly confident’ over £80m deal as journalist offers insight into club’s transfer ‘model’ | OneFootball

Arsenal are reportedly “quietly confident” that they will be able to sign West Ham United star Declan Rice this summer for between £75-80m.

The England international has emerged as a key target for Arsenal. This comes after they failed to sign Moises Caicedo from Brighton during the January transfer window.

The Gunners will have Champions League football to contend with next season so they will need to have a stronger squad at their disposal.

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Rice has proven himself as one of the leading midfielders in the Premier League in recent years so he would be a brilliant signing for Arsenal.

The West Ham star is under contract until 2024 but they do have the option to extend his deal until 2025. Despite this, the Hammers are reportedly resigned to him leaving the club this summer.

Arsenal are likely to face competition in the race to sign Rice. But Ben Jacobs is reporting that the Gunners see a £80m deal for the midfielder “as value”.

“I think that suitors like Arsenal and Chelsea, who may even be in the race as well, are quietly confident that they can get a player like Declan Rice for something between £75m and £80m, which sounds like a lot of money, but I think Arsenal see that as value. And I think that summarises how they’ll act in the summer generally,” Jacobs told GiveMeSport.

“It’s not about how much they spend because they will have that financial muscle.

“It’s about finding value in the market and that’s always been Arsenal’s model. I don’t expect that to change regardless of winning the Champions League or the Premier League.

“They’ve never wanted to put it out there in the market that they’re prepared to spend wildly above the odds, even on a player that they so desperately want.”

Speaking last month, ex-Premier League defender Alan Hutton backed Arsenal to lure Rice to the club later this year.

“I do not see why you wouldn’t [choose Arsenal],” Hutton told Football Insider.

“They are still up there and challenging for the league title. The process has worked really well under Arteta, he is building a squad to go and challenge in the league and Europe.

“I think that is somewhere where Declan Rice sees himself, playing in the Champions League. I am really interested to see what kind of price tag we are talking.