North London giants Arsenal could be on their way to finalizing a deal with their London counterparts Westham United for their captain Declan Rice.
According to the Guardian, Arsenal is close to agreeing a fee with Westham for Rice and expected to pay more than €100 million if certain add-ons are agreed as talks are currently going well between the two clubs.
The Westham captain who led the way to the Europa Conference League win last week has been linked with a move out for quite some time and the north London giants seem to be winning the race over Bundesliga side Bayern Munich and EPL duo of Newcastle and Chelsea.
Arsenal who were league leaders for the better part of last season and were on the edge of breaking their English Premier League drought but lost it in the dying minutes majorly due to lack of squad depth will be looking to strengthen their side so as to challenge for the title again next season.
They made Declan Rice their top target this window and if a deal goes through, it will be a record-breaking deal for both clubs as Rice will be the most expensive player for Westham united as well as becoming a record signing for the gunners. The gunners transfer record is currently at €72 million paid for Ivorian forward Nicolas Pepe in 2019.
Arsenal also got a double huge boost after they reached an agreement with their youngsters Reiss Nelson and William Saliba for a long-term deal. Nelson, who had received bids from Italian, French and English clubs chose to extend his contract with his boyhood club up to 2027 with option for another season rather than leaving.
Defender William Saliba also signed a four-year contract extension that will keep him in the club until 2027.
The French international had one year remaining in his contract and there was interest from French giants PSG. Saliba who missed up to 11 games running to the end of the season with injury, which coincidentally saw a drop in form the gunners and resulted to them losing the title to Manchester City. He joins his fellow teammates likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale in contract extensions.