Rice will move to Etihad: World Exclusive by Terry Robbins, Claret and H Northern Correspondent
Manchester City believe they will win the race for Declan Rice and that he is ready to move to the Etihad instead of Arsenal.
My sources in Manchester have stated the Treble winners have worked “overtime”. During the last few days city have worked to establish whether Dec is up for the move North. Despite City’s bid of £80m plus £10m in achievable add-ons being rejected by David Sullivan this morning, the Manchester giants are now in the box-seat.
Claret&Hugh have been informed City were holding off on submitting an official bid. They waited until their own intermediaries could GUARANTEE the Irons midfielder actually wants to play for Pep Guardiola. There is now an growing sense Dec will snub the Gunners in favour of chasing silverware at City.
Rice willing to relocate
A source close the negotiations told us: “City had promised West Ham they were ready to make a bid but needed a few days. City don’t get involved in bidding wars unless they know they will ultimately win them. Pep absolutely loves Declan and has for a long time, but he only wants players who fully commit to City.
Rice is willing to move to the Etihad
“The bid is now in and that is bad news for The Gunners. Arsenal know City aren’t bidding blind and have a large degree of optimism. “City expect it to get close to £100m but it’s not about the money. Rather, it’s always about the player being motivated to join and win the biggest trophies.
“Forget the narrative he needs to stay in London or he wants to be the future captain of Arsenal one day. He has the chance to play for the best team in the world under the best manager. Declan’s midfield hero was Yaya Toure and City know there is a further strong pull there.”
It’s understood City are now prepared to sit back and await Arsenal’s response. West Ham have been bemused by Arsenal’s bid of £75m plus £15m in add-ons which are not easily achievable.They include them winning the Premier League for the first time in two decades and lifting the Champions League in the next five years.
City know Irons boss David Moyes still fancies a possible deal for their midfielder Kalvin Phillips, although the player has previously insisted he wants to fight for his place. Our sources, however, have suggested Phillips will now speak to Guardiola. A stand alone deal to bring him to the London Stadium cannot be ruled out at this stage.
If his bestie Mount moved to Man Utd he will be more inclined to go to City. If he really needs to stay in London an alternative would be to stay at West Ham until January to see if Chelsea improve.