Declan Rice‘s move to Arsenal is still yet to be completed – despite West Ham agreeing a deal for their captain to leave nearly two weeks ago.
David Moyes‘ side struck a club-record £105million deal, worth £100m upfront plus £5m in add-ons, to sell star defensive midfielder Rice to the Gunners.
The move is set to happen imminently but the north London side has not yet formally announced or officially completed it despite manager Mikel Arteta wanting him to travel on their pre-season tour of the USA.
And the reason why has now been revealed.
Sky Sports are reporting that West Ham are ready to rubber-stamp the move on their end. But their report adds that the Hammers are waiting on Arsenal’s lawyers to approve the final wording of the deal – and that Rice’s transfer will be completed once that is done.
Arsenal fly to America on Sunday, where their pre-season preparations will continue as they face MLS All-Stars in Washington, Manchester United in New Jersey and Barcelona in Los Angeles.
Rice’s move will smash the Gunners’ previous transfer record – a £72m move for Nicolas Pepe in 2019 – and will be the second-biggest British move of all time, behind Enzo Fernandez’ £106.8m switch from Benfica to Chelsea in January.
Arteta and Co have also agreed a £40m deal for Ajax defender Jurrien Timber and hope to complete the Dutchman’s signing this week.
Indeed, they are hopeful the 22-year-old will be announced in time to face German side FC Nurnberg in a friendly on Thursday.
On Monday, West Ham unveiled their new home shirt for the 2023-24 season – but there was no sign of Rice as he edges closer to his Arsenal move.
Arsenal have reached a full agreement with the Hammers to sign Rice, who was set to undergo his medical in north London last week after finalising personal terms.
Official confirmation of his switch to the Emirates is expected in the coming days, with Arteta closing in on his second major signing of the summer.
The move means Rice will be bidding an emotional farewell to West Ham, where he has spent the entirety of his career to date after emerging from their academy in 2017.
And as a result, the England midfielder was nowhere to be seen as they unveiled their new home kit on Monday.
Jarrod Bowen, Maxwel Cornet, Thilo Kehrer and goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, along with women stars Hawa Cissoko and Risa Shimizu, were instead seen donning the new West Ham shirt in a promotional video which sees the six players greet fans in an East End pub.
They even join them in a rendition of the club’s famous I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles chant, while Cornet can be seen dancing with one supporter.
The new strip, put together by kit manufacturers Umbro, features West Ham’s traditional claret body with blue sleeves, as well as a bubble pattern woven through the design.
Rice captained West Ham to Europa Conference League glory in his final season at the club
But Rice’s absence was the biggest takeaway from the promotion as West Ham fans await confirmation that their star man is moving to north London.
The 24-year-old first signed for West Ham at the age of 14 after being released by Chelsea and has gone on to make 245 appearances, scoring 15 goals and captaining them to Europa Conference League glory in what will now prove his final season.
He is set to join an Arsenal side who narrowly missed out on the Premier League title last term, having led Manchester City for the majority of the race at the top before a late collapse.
Daily Mail UK
