Arsenal’s pursuit of West Ham captain Declan Rice is gathering pace with talks between the clubs progressing well, even though the first bid was rejected.
It has been widely reported that Granit Xhaka is expected to leave for Bayer Leverkusen once Arsenal sign his replacement, and news coming in indicates that Arsenal are also open to letting Ghana international Thomas Partey leave this summer. Partey’s exit is tied on if and when a suitable offer comes in for him.
The pair played a vital role for Arsenal last season that helped the club challenge for the Premier League title until the final bend of the season. Both players are now 30, and it has been evidenced that manager Mikel Arteta is a big fan of younger players so replacing Xhaka and Partey is seen as part of the “project”.
Rice aside, Arsenal have also been heavily linked with Chelsea’s Kai Havertz, but Chelsea’s £75 million price tag is still a stumbling block for that transfer to go through. Arsenal have been reported to bid between £60 million and £70 million for the German. Bayern Munich are also reportedly interested in Havertz.
Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan is also another option even though he is 32. Gundogan is a proven winner and has been one of the most important players for Pep Guadiola’s treble-winning Manchester City. He is out of contract at Etihad, and Arsenal will have to beat off interest from Barcelona for him.
Partey joined Arsenal from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2020 in a £45 million deal and has so far made 99 appearances and scored five goals for the Gunners.
