Arsenal’s quest to take West Ham United captain Declan Rice across the capital has taken a blow as Bayern Munich are confident about luring the midfielder to the Bundesliga.
Although it’s usually the other way around, Germany’s top-flight could welcome a top-class English player instead of helping the country’s talents develop before shipping them back to their homeland.
If Kicker’s latest update proves valid, the Bavarians hold a firm upper hand over the Gunners in an intense pursuit of the 24-year-old, who’s on the verge of leaving West Ham after six years.
Rice has been one of the most coveted midfielders in the Premier League in the past few years, with many pundits expecting him to continue his rise to stardom in his home country.
His boyhood club Chelsea and cross-city rivals Arsenal have been on his tail for quite some time, with Manchester City and Manchester United lurking in the shadows.
After the Red Devils withdrew from the race to pursue other targets and the England international turned down the prospect of rejoining the Blues, Arsenal and Man City have emerged as the only potential landing spots.
Pep Guardiola’s side are well-covered in the midfield area, even though Ilkay Gundogan’s future at the Etihad Stadium hangs by a thread, leaving Mikel Arteta as Rice’s most genuine admirer.
Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he could miss out on the Englishman’s signature with Bayern ready to break their summer war chest to sign the West Ham star.
Bayern will likely undergo drastic changes in the coming months after barely defending the Bundesliga title and bowing out of the Champions League quarter-finals in humiliating fashion.
Although they’ve never splashed out €100 million on a single player, Bayern are willing to set a new club record to prise Rice away from the Premier League.
It’s understood that Thomas Tuchel, with the blessing of sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, already had a face-to-face meeting with the player to convince him to leave London.
As things stand, Rice is closer to joining Bayern than staying in the Premier League.
