Football News: Manchester City makes £90m bid for West Ham United's Declan Rice

Manchester City has reportedly made a formal proposal of £90 million for West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice.

For some time, the 24-year-old has been the subject of much speculation, with Hammers chairman David Sullivan stating last month that the club's captain had agreed to depart the London Stadium this summer.

Rice successfully guided West Ham to Europa Conference League triumph in the 2022-23 season, but he now wants to play in the Champions League.

Arsenal are widely seen as the frontrunners in the race to recruit Rice, with Mikel Arteta naming the England international as his priority midfield target this summer.

The Gunners have previously had two bids for Rice rejected by the Hammers, including their most recent club-record offer of £75 million upfront with £15 million in add-ons spread over four to five years.

West Ham are thought to be prepared for a third bid from Arsenal, who are still hoping to bring the midfielder to North London.

Although Rice is thought to have favoured the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners now face stiff competition from treble winners Man City, who have recently ramped up their pursuit of the highly sought-after midfielder.

According to recent sources, the Citizens have entered advanced talks to sign Rice and are optimistic of striking a deal with West Ham, who are currently awaiting a formal offer.

However, according to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein, Manchester City have already placed their first bid of £80 million plus £10 million in add-ons in the goal of beating out rivals Arsenal for Rice's signature.

West Ham have yet to respond to the offer, but it is believed that they value their star midfielder, who has only one year left on his contract, between £100 million and £120 million.

Man City's formal proposal for Rice comes just hours after the club confirmed that Ilkay Gundogan will join Barcelona on a free transfer at the end of the month when his contract expires.

Guardiola is not only interested in Rice, as the Citizens are close to concluding a deal to buy Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic for an initial £25 million plus £5 million in add-ons.

Man City are still waiting to hear from Bernardo Silva about whether he wants to stay at the Etihad for the 2023-24 season, while the future of Kalvin Phillips, who has attracted interest from West Ham, remains uncertain despite publicly expressing his desire to stay at the club.

Rice has played 245 times for West Ham in all competitions since his professional debut in 2017, recording 15 goals and 13 assists and establishing himself as one of the top midfielders in the Premier League.

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