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Declan Rice: Arsenal fear Chelsea could hijack their West Ham star deal - sources
Arsenal lead the race to sign West Ham star Declan Rice but Chelsea are also closely trailing him, sources have told Football Insider.
The Irons star man, 24, is on the wish list of all the Premier League big hitters and there is set to be an extended battle to lure him over the coming months.
Rice has strong family roots in London and is keen to remain in the capital but he has open mind where he will end up.
Arsenal are currently in pole position as they lay the groundwork for their next deal but they are wary of his boyhood Chelsea lurking in the background.
Few among the north London hierarchy will forget how the huge-spending west Londoners hijacked their Mykhailo Mudryk deal last month.
West Ham expect to be deluged with interest but they accept a £100m+ fee is almost out of the question now despite David Moyes claiming it will take a British record to land him this summer.
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Rice has rejected multiple new Irons contract offers with a summer move always on the cards for him and his camp.
His current deal with the Irons runs until the summer of 2024 and the club have the option of another 12 months but, as reported by Football Insider last month, the club do not intend to stand in his way in the next window.
A January exit was never a possibility, although a summer move is now seen as very likely by those involved with it offering the last realistic chance of securing a huge fee.
Moyes insisted at his media conference last April that the price tag had rocketed and “£150m just now would be minimum”.
That was enough to temporarily put off the Premier League elite from making a move.
But his price tag has fallen as Rice’s contract runs down and the player will be in an even stronger negotiating position in the summer.
The top clubs all watched Rice closely at the World Cup and were impressed at how he dealt with the pressure of big matches with the microscope of the nation fixed on him.
In other news, West Ham coaches really excited about 17-year-old sensation.