A huge demand from West Ham United has Arsenal sweating over any potential deal for Declan Rice. The Gunners are believed to be preparing a £90m offer which will fall short of the Hammers £100m price.

However it is the structure of that deal and the Hammers boards demand which have thrown a spanner in the works. It is usual for transfer payments to be spread over 5 years, but West Ham are demanding payment within 24 months.

Arsenal  are sweating over Rice deal because the Hammers are demanding a huge fee up-front

Such deals are usually structured with a set payment and bonuses for games played and goals scored etc. It is understood that West Ham will be looking for the base payment paid within the fist two years. The initial payment could be as high as £85 million so it’s a fair chunk of cash.

Quite frankly I don’t blame the club for making such a demand. Declan is our player to sell, and we have to provide our manager with funds to replace Rice quickly.

This may prove to be a problem for Arsenal who would understandably prefer to offset the fee. The Gunners do have the money for Rice but paying so much up front will impact their own summer spending.

Such is Rice’s abilities as a player, West Ham may well need to replace him with two players. It could be that we look to sign a playmaker or a defensive midfielder but possibly both.

In that event, it’s prudent to arm ourselves with as much transfer cash as possible. West Ham face a mini-rebuild for next season with a striker, winger, full-back and midfielders required.

If Arsenal truly do want Declan they’ll have to pay the West Ham way.