Breaking: Arsenal sign Declan Rice for club-record £105m

Arsenal have completed the signing of England midfielder, Declan Rice, from West Ham for a club-record fee of £105 million.

The deal for Rice, who will wear the number 41 shirt, eclipses the £72 million Arsenal paid for Nicolas Pepe from Lille in 2019, while it is also a record transfer fee between two British clubs.

Rice’s signing is however short of the British record transfer fee with Chelsea paying £106.8 million for midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in January 2023.

The 24-year-old midfielder’s arrival at Arsenal takes their summer spending to £208 million following the signings of Kai Havertz from Chelsea for £65 million and Jurrien Timber from Ajax for £38 million.

The £105 million Rice deal is broken down into an initial payment of £100 million, which will be paid over 24 months, with £5 million in add-ons, which are £1 million every time Arsenal qualify for the Champions League and Rice starts 60 per cent of games.

Rice, who has signed a long-term contract at Arsenal, brings a decade-long spell at West Ham to an end.

Declan Rice started his youth career at Chelsea, before joining the West Ham academy in 2014, and signed his first professional contract a year later.

On the final day of the 2016/17 season, an 18-year-old Rice made his senior debut and soon became an integral part of their first-team squad for the following six seasons.

He was named club captain in May 2022 and went on to lead the Hammers to the Europa Conference League title (West Ham’s first trophy in 43 years) in June 2023. He was named the tournament’s Player of the Season by UEFA.

A regular with the England national team, he featured at both Euro 2020 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Speaking on the move, Arsenal Sporting Director, Edu, said: “Declan Rice is a player with fantastic ability and a proven record at both club and international levels. The process of this transfer has been a big team effort with a clear plan, and we are so happy that Declan is joining us.

“Declan is a high-quality, young international player who will add great strength to our squad, fitting so well into our strategy of competing with young talented players at the centre of our club.

“It’s great that Declan will be joining up with Mikel, our coaches, and his new teammates in good time ahead of the new season.”

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, added: “We’re really happy that Declan Rice is joining us. He is a player with tremendous ability, who has been performing at a high level in the Premier League and for England for a number of seasons now.

“Declan is bringing undoubted quality to the club and he is an exceptional talent who has the potential to be very successful here.

“Declan has great experience in the Premier League at only 24 years old. He has captained a very good West Ham team and as we all saw, he recently lifted a European trophy. The responsibility and role he has taken on has been very impressive and we are really excited that he is joining us.”

The Star