Fabrizio saying Arsenal are still favourites for Rice as personal terms have been agreed from before and City are currently 'monitoring' the situation without formally approaching or making a bid. In other words, they'll make a move if we end up fumbling this. I also read that our initial bid for Rice was £80m spread over 6 instalments with an additional £10m if Rice meets certain clauses. West Ham (understandably) rejected this straight away with an official source calling the bid 'laughable'. I have to say. Considering how much groundwork we've supposedly put into signing Rice, speaking to West Ham's reps for ages and apparently knowing what sort of fee they're looking for, it is a bit embarrassing that we're making a bit of a pig's ear of it. I am hoping the second bid will be significantly stronger. Otherwise we will end up pissing West Ham off and other clubs will be circling for him.
Don’t know much about him but he seems to be highly rated. In any case, wow we are very active this window.
Damn He's one I've followed with interest. Hugely promising talent. Might struggle with the physical side of the PL but he's quick, reads the game well and is comfortable on the ball as you'd expect from an Ajax player. Oozes calm and is perfect for a system that plays out from the back, which I believe Arteta favours? Twin brother Quinten is another one to watch but Jurrien is a few steps ahead in terms of his development. Really hope this deal collapses.
I'm not sure how he compares to Simakan or Tapsoba (both are also on our list), but it'd be worth getting Timber purely for the meltdown of the Man Utd fans who seem to be frothing at the mouth that we dare to go for one of their transfer targets.
I don’t think this offer gets accepted personally. I think Arsenal are banking on Rice’s desire to come to us as leverage that we can offer a lower fee, but in truth, I don’t see us getting him for less than £100m.
Your board don't seem to be listening, no 'if Arsenal win CL and/or league' add-ons, and the price is 100m minimum.
If the 3rd bid gets rejected, that’s when I will seriously have worries that we won’t be able to get this over the line. More so if Man City do end up entering the race to sign Rice.
Don't understand why we always fanny about in the transfer market when we ought to just go for it. Man City could join in the bidding for Rice tomorrow and offer West Ham what they want and get him. We seem to think that we are the only club interested in these players that we fancy.
I think they're relying on Rice's desire to come to us as the reason for why they can get him for a lower price than the original £120m West Ham wanted. And it's not like there's a whole host of clubs bidding for him right now. In fairness, big deal transfers like this are never that smooth. However, after having two bids rejected, if the 3rd bid also gets turned down, I'll be a lot more concerned. Really hope we can wrap this up soon.
I don't think City will tbh, they've just bought Kovacic and Phillips has said he's not leaving, plus they have the FFP nonsense hanging over their heads so will probably try to make a profit again this season. United is a more likely competitor for his signature. The outcome most seem to ignore however, is him staying. Although it's been reported heavily that he won't sign a new contract, what seems to be little reported is that the reason why is the lack of a release clause, Sullivan won't have them, and Rice feels he's over-priced (he isn't, but he's a humble lad). It wouldn't be a shock to me if Sullivan caved in and gave him a new 5 yr contract with a minimum release fee of 100m, one that becomes active next summer.
The Athletic are reporting today that if Gundogan leaves (and he's reportedly agreed a 2 year contract with Barcelona) that Rice is one of the names in the hat to replace him. I wouldn't rule City out yet. Fundamentally, I think a lot of this will also come down to Rice's wishes also. If Rice genuinely only wants to join us, and isn't interested in moving to Manchester, playing for City (not guaranteed to play every week) or Man United, then my only guess is that Arsenal are biding their time to reach an agreement because there aren't a plethora of clubs he wants to go to. They are trusting that his desire to come to us means we can take our time. It was the same with Gabriel Jesus, whereby Chelsea and Spurs tried to snatch him away from us last Summer when we'd agreed everything, but Jesus was only set on joining us. The scenario you've presented is interesting, but I would be extremely surprised if he pens a new deal (even with a release clause) considering he's rejected multiple offers already from West Ham. Obviously you don't want to give him away for a 'lesser' fee, but I do think Sullivan will respect Rice's wishes to leave eventually. Just my opinion.
