Arsenal

Arsenal

Premier League • England

Arsenal transfers: Double £150m signing explodes into life with club-record bid imminent for potential Declan Rice partner

Arsenal chief Edu with a smiling Mikel Arteta

Arsenal are taking big strides towards securing a huge double deal worth around £150million, with two bids drawn up for a pair of elite Premier League stars and their transfer record in line to be smashed.

Arsenal did not quite manage to end their wait for another Premier League title, finishing five points behind eventual winners Manchester City despite topping the table for much of the campaign. The disappointment will have left Mikel Arteta reeling, with the Spaniard eager to bring in some top-class signings and get the better of City next term.

West Ham captain Declan Rice is one of Arteta’s priority targets. Earlier on Thursday, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed Arsenal have had a bid for Rice ready to submit since May. Romano states that it will be launched ‘soon’, as Arsenal wanted to wait until West Ham’s Europa Conference League campaign was finished before sending it.

Bayern are Arsenal’s main transfer rivals for the England ace. Although, the German giants know he would rather remain in the Premier League, giving Arsenal the upper hand.

West Ham would ideally like more than £100m for Rice, potentially as much as £120m. However, there are two reasons why Arsenal could capture him for around the £75m mark. The first is that the Gunners know Rice wants to leave the London Stadium, as Irons chairman David Sullivan has publicly revealed as much.

Secondly, Rice’s West Ham deal expires in summer 2024, which means David Moyes’ side run the risk of losing him on a free next year if they do not sell in the next transfer window.

READ MORE: Arsenal transfer delayed despite being ‘very, very advanced’, as Arteta demands second deal be completed first

But Rice is not the only Premier League midfielder wanted by Arteta and Arsenal. They are also in the frame to land Moises Caicedo from Brighton.

On Tuesday, it emerged that Chelsea had decided on Caicedo as their ideal midfield signing after missing out on Manuel Ugarte to Paris Saint-Germain. Arsenal were then put into pole position though as Caicedo decided he wants to join them over the Blues.

Arsenal on verge of launching major offer

As per an update from London World, Arsenal are now ready to strike for the 21-year-old. Sporting director Edu Gaspar is drawing up plans to submit an official offer to Brighton.

They will open the bidding at £75m, which is similar to what they offered Brighton during the January window. The Seagulls were unwilling to sell mid-season but promised Caicedo that if their season ended well and a major offer then came in, they would consider it.

Arsenal are hoping this will see Brighton accept their terms for a transfer. If Caicedo were to join Arsenal for that £75m fee, then it would see him eclipse Nicolas Pepe’s £72m move and become their most expensive signing of all time. Although, Rice could end up beating that transfer fee later on in the summer.

Despite Caicedo seemingly choosing Arsenal over Chelsea, Pochettino’s side cannot be ruled out due to their huge spending power. In January, for example, they got into a bidding war with the Gunners for Caicedo.

Arsenal will be wary about paying too much for Caicedo if this happens again. They also lost out on winger Mykhaylo Mudryk to their London rivals after Chelsea offered a higher sum to Shakhtar Donetsk.

Caicedo will be put under pressure by his potentially massive cost, should he go on to join either Arsenal or Chelsea. However, it is highly likely that he will still be as impressive when departing the Amex.

Caicedo has shown an incredible determination to reach the top and he is still intent on becoming one of the best midfielders in the world. He has dominated the midfield on plenty of occasions for Brighton and should be able to do this in Europe as well as in the Premier League.

If Arsenal do win the race for the Ecuadorian, plus Rice, then Arteta will be able to select a brilliant midfield trio involving those two players and club captain Martin Odegaard.

Meanwhile, Arsenal could bring in a City player at an £18.5m discount, according to an update from Germany.