West Ham United have reportedly received a formal bid of £90m from Manchester City for midfielder Declan Rice.
The 24-year-old has been the subject of much speculation for some time, with Hammers chairman David Sullivan revealing last month that the club's captain has a gentleman's agreement to leave the London Stadium this summer.
Rice successfully led West Ham to Europa Conference League glory in the 2022-23 campaign, but he is now keen to fulfil his dream of playing in the Champions League.
Arsenal have been widely regarded as the leading contenders to win the race for Rice's signature, with Mikel Arteta identifying the England international as his primary midfield target this summer.
The Gunners have already seen two bids for Rice rejected by the Hammers, including their latest club-record offer of £75m upfront plus £15m in add-ons paid across a four to five-year period.
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West Ham are said to be preparing themselves to receive a third offer from Arsenal, who remain hopeful of luring the midfielder to North London.
Although Rice is understood to have earmarked the Emirates Stadium as his preferred destination, the Gunners now face stern competition from treble winners Man City as Pep Guardiola's side have recently stepped up their pursuit of the highly sought-after midfielder.
Recent reports have indicated that the Citizens have entered advanced talks to sign Rice and were confident of reaching an agreement with West Ham, although the latter were still awaiting a formal offer.
However, according to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein, Man City have now submitted their first bid of an initial £80m plus £10m in add-ons in the hope of fending off rivals Arsenal to Rice's signature.
West Ham are yet to respond to the offer but it is understood that they value their star midfielder, who has just one year remaining on his contract, between £100m and £120m.
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Man City's formal bid for Rice comes just hours after the club announced that Ilkay Gundogan will join Barcelona on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of this month.
Rice is not the only midfielder wanted by Guardiola, though, as the Citizens are believed to be on the verge of completing a deal to sign Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic for an initial £25m plus £5m in add-ons.
Man City are still believed to be awaiting news from Bernardo Silva over whether he is happy to remain at the Etihad for the 2023-24 campaign, while the future of Kalvin Phillips - who has attracted interest from West Ham - remains uncertain even though he has publicly expressed his desire to stay at the club.
Since making his professional debut in 2017, Rice has featured 245 times for West Ham across all tournaments, contributing with 15 goals and 13 assists, and has established himself as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
Oliver Thomas
