Arsenal outbid Manchester City with a record transfer fee of $132.8 million to sign Declan Rice from West Ham – Yahoo Sports

Arsenal have agreed to pay a £105 million transfer fee to acquire the rights to Declan Rice from West Ham United, The Athletic reports. According to the conversion rate on Wednesday, that works out to about $132.8 million.

The deal sets a new record for the transfer of an English player in the Premier League, taking Manchester City to break a £100 million fee for the acquisition of Jack Grealish in 2022.

The two parties are still working out the details of payment terms, but the deal has been agreed in principle, according to the report. The deal ends a bidding war for the 24-year-old midfielder that has involved three-time reigning champions Manchester City.

According to the report, Arsenal initially offered £90 million, a price that Manchester City matched. Both bids were rejected by West Ham. Arsenal responded by raising its bid on Tuesday to an initial fee of £100 million plus £5 million in add-ons, ultimately outbidding Manchester City to secure its main target.

Rice has played for West Ham throughout his senior professional career, making 245 appearances since joining the team in 2017. He began his international career playing for the Republic of Ireland, but made a one-off move to England in 2019 and featured on the 2022 World Cup squad.

His imminent arrival at Arsenal has the potential to balance the power shift at the top of the Premier League. Manchester City moved to second-placed Arsenal in May to win the Premier League.

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