Man City Ends Interest In West Ham And England Midfielder Declan Rice, As They Would Not Match Arsenal's Bid.

 Manchester City have decided to pull out of the race to sign Declan Rice from West Ham United.

The Premier League champions are not interested in entering a bidding war for the England midfielder, after having a £90m offer (£80m up front, plus £10m in add-ons) rejected by West Ham on Tuesday.

Pep Guardiola's side have decided to not match or surpass Arsenal's third and latest £105m bid for Rice with the Gunners offering a £100m initial fee, plus £5m in performance-related add-ons.

This comes just hours after the treble winners City, confirmed the arrival of Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea on a four-year deal for an initial £25m. 

The Croatia midfielder is City’s first signing of the summer and his arrival compensates for the departure of captain Ilkay Gündogan, who joined La Liga champions Barcelona on Monday after seven years at the club.

West Ham have been holding out for £100m and are expecting City to come in with a new offer on Wednesday.

“Manchester City to leave Declan Rice as internal discussion took place today after Arsenal record bid submitted on Tuesday.

“City have no intention to enter into a bidding war, as always. No plans to match £105m proposal.

“Over to Arsenal and West Ham now,” transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, tweeted on Wednesday morning.

One source suggested Arsenal may need to raise their offer to £110m to see off City.

Arsenal have already had two club-record bids rejected by the Europa League champions, a £90m bid comprising a £75m fee and £15m in add-ons and an opening offer thought to be worth £80m plus add-ons.

Rice is Mikel Arteta’s top target and Arsenal have gone to great lengths to woo the West Ham captain, as part of a huge midfield revamp that could see Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey leave. There is mutual admiration between Rice and Arteta. 

The new offer for Rice smashes Arsenal's transfer record straight signing of £72m they paid Lille for Nicolas Pepe in 2019.

Arsenal’s manager Arteta envisages pairing the 24-year-old in midfield with Kai Havertz, who is due to join from Chelsea for £65m. Havertz has played as a No 9 for Chelsea but wants to operate in a deeper role.