sport news Arsenal are set for talks with West Ham over signing Declan Rice for £90m this ... trends now

Arsenal are ready to offer West Ham £90MILLION to sign Declan Rice this summer - with the Gunners preparing a £300,000-a-week deal to land the Hammers captain as they look to offload Granit Xhaka and mount another title push Arsenal are set to open talks with West Ham over a £90m swoop for Declan Rice He is their priority target and are willing to break their transfer record to get him Mail Sport also understands the club will loosen constraints on their wage bill

By Sami Mokbel and Daniel Matthews For Mailonline

Published: 19:26 BST, 15 May 2023 | Updated: 19:29 BST, 15 May 2023

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Arsenal are set to open talks with West Ham over a £90million swoop for Declan Rice as Emirates chiefs prepare to loosen the purse strings ahead of their Champions League return this summer.

In addition to making major funds available to Mikel Arteta to strengthen his squad, Mail Sport understands the club will loosen constraints on their wage bill to ensure the team can attract sufficient talent to maintain their current status as genuine Premier League title contenders.

Arsenal will look to offset their anticipated spend by selling a number of players - with Granit Xhaka among the players in line to depart.

England midfielder Rice is the club’s priority target and Arsenal are willing to break their transfer record - which is currently at £72million for the signing of Nicolas Pepe in 2019 - to sign the West Ham star.

Intriguingly, however, there is a reluctance to match West Ham’s £100million valuation for Rice, though sources have indicated that the Gunners would be willing to offer the midfielder a contract that would see his potential earnings exceed £300,000-per-week.