Arsenal have agreed a £105m deal to sign West Ham captain Declan Rice this summer - but the two clubs are still discussing how the fee will be paid in installments.
The structure of the payments are yet to be finalised, but Rice is now free to discuss personal terms and look at having his medical.
The transfer breaks down as an £100m initial fee plus £5m in performance related add-ons.
Arsenal have already had two club-record bids rejected by the Irons - a £90m bid comprising a £75m fee and £15m in add-ons and an opening offer thought to be worth £80m plus add-ons.
The offer smashes Arsenal's transfer record - the £72m they paid Lille for Nicolas Pepe in 2019.
Mikel Arteta, who has mostly relied on Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard as his midfielders last season, has been keen to strengthen in that area of the field. He looks to have got his No 1 target.
Hammers chairman David Sullivan said a gentleman's agreement meant Rice could leave despite having a year remaining on his contract, with the option to extend it by a further 12 months.
Rice joined West Ham's academy from Chelsea as a teenager and has been ever-present since his breakthrough season in 2017-18. He took over the captaincy after Mark Noble's retirement last year.
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The 24-year-old played 50 games in all competitions last season as West Ham finished 14th in the Premier League, before winning the Europa Conference League in Prague.
Rice has played more than 200 games for West Ham and earned 41 caps for England since his international debut in 2019.
Neville: I would spend £50m-£60m on Rice
Speaking in March, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville said Rice is only worth around £50m-£60m - around half of the current figure being discussed by West Ham and Arsenal.
"I love Declan Rice," Neville said. "Obviously, Declan knows the position, but when I look at world-class holding midfielders, and players of that type, because he doesn't score or assist enough goals, you're putting him into that category of more of a destroyer.
"[Then], you've then got to be someone who I think is highly competent on the ball and linking play, and having that knowledge of the subtleties of getting on the ball from the back four.
"I personally feel, at this moment in time, that Declan needs to go and work under a different set-up, he needs to drive forward in his career, he needs to go and play at a different club.
"I think there's a lot of growth, and a lot for Declan to do to get up to the levels of Casemiro, Rodri and players at the top of the game in those positions.
"But, for me, I wouldn't be spending £110m or £120m... I would spend £50m-£60m on Declan Rice, but I wouldn't spend the figures being reported."
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reported earlier this month that the midfielder had been given permission to undergo a medical and finalise personal terms after the two clubs had settled on a transfer fee of £100million plus £5million in add-ons in June.
"Playing in front of you has been an honour, we have had such great times together, and you all mean so much to me. "I want you to know how tough a decision it has been for me to leave an environment that I have loved and cherished so much.
Arsenal have signed England midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham for a club-record fee of £105m. The deal eclipses the £72m Arsenal paid for Nicolas Pepe from Lille in 2019, while it is also a record transfer fee between two British clubs.
Arsenal and Arteta had a long-standing interest in Rice and made him their number one summer transfer target. Despite the Hammers accepting they would have to sell, they were determined to get the best price for their captain, initially rejecting bids of £80m and £90m.
The fact is that the 24‑year‑old had to leave for the sake of his career. Rice joined West Ham when he was 14 and still loves the club but it was time to move on. Nobody can begrudge his desire to compete for major honours and play in the Champions League every season. It was never going to happen at West Ham.
Declan Rice was on the latest episode of Arsenal's Colney Carpool this week and was asked about his time at the North London Club since his transfer from West Ham in the summer, his “world-class” teammates, the Champions League and more. Read the transcript from the interview below.
Declan Rice signed a 5 year , $15,600,000 contract with the West Ham United F.C., including an average annual salary of $3,120,000. In 2024, Rice will earn a base salary of $3,120,000, while carrying a cap hit of $3,120,000.
Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has completed his purchase of a 27% stake in West Ham United. Businessman and lawyer Kretinsky will join the West Ham board alongside colleague Pavel Horsky as part of the agreement. They join joint-chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold and vice-chair Karren Brady.
Declan Rice's incredible effect in professional football is highlighted by his rapid growth in fortune, with a projected net worth of $30 million by 2024. Rice has demonstrated his abilities on the field despite his youth, and he has also established himself as a successful brand spokesperson.
Reports suggest that the biggest clubs in England all hold an interest in the West Ham captain, with Arsenal and Man City particularly strongly linked, while former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel apparently wants to take him to Bayern Munich to boost the engine room of the Bundesliga champions.
Laurie Shaw, the head of data analytics at Manchester City, created a formula to calculate the correct market salary for English Premier League players. Applying the formula to Rice, it seems that Arsenal are overpaying by a fair margin – almost £75 million.
WHAT RICE SAID. "This project seemed more exciting and that's why I chose to come to Arsenal, because I believe we're on to big things here," Rice explained. On the rivalry that developed with Rodri now that they have remained opponents instead of team-mates, he added: "I enjoy it. We're different players, I feel.
Arsenal have smashed their transfer record to complete the signing of England midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham, the club announced on Saturday. The Premier League runners-up agreed a fee for Rice worth £100 million ($131m) plus £5m ($6.5m) in add-ons, sources told ESPN.
The midfielder was 16 and a member of the Republic of Ireland's junior squads at the time of the Instagram comments in which he wrote “upthera” on one, and “my brudda.UP THE RA.Wait Till We Draw England” to a teammate on another.
Declan Rice has joined Arsenal from West Ham in a record £105m deal. The transfer is made up of a £100m initial fee plus £5m in performance-related add-ons. It is the highest amount an English club has paid for an English player.
He was paid only £60,000 per week at West Ham, a generous annual salary for most but a small paycheque compared to many of his England peers, like Tottenham's Harry Kane (£200,000 per week), Manchester United's Marcus Rashford (£200,000), Chelsea's Raheem Sterling (£350,000) and Grealish (£300,000).
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