Liverpool could now reportedly miss out on the signing of Declan Rice, with Arsenal closing in on a deal to sign the 24-year-old West Ham captain.
Football Transfers claim that negotiations between the Gunners and the England international are close to completion, with Arsenal in the driving seat to strike a deal to bring Rice to north London despite strong interest from Liverpool.
The Merseyside giants have been linked with Rice for the past few weeks as the midfielder looks ready to leave east London in the summer, yet it appears that Arsenal will win the race for the West Ham superstar in what could be a marquee signing for Mikel Arteta.
Valued north of £100m, Rice will shatter Arsenal’s current transfer record currently held by Nicolas Pepe, with Liverpool now set to return to the drawing board over a new superstar midfield signing, with Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo still available.
Indeed, with Rice arguably the most expensive midfielder out there on the market not named Jude Bellingham, Liverpool were always going to struggle to beat their rivals to the West Ham man’s signature. Yet missing out on the England international shouldn’t be viewed as a bad thing for the Reds.
Arsenal have no doubt landed a superstar in Rice, with the Gunners adding to their midfield expertly having challenged Manchester City for the title this season. Yet for Liverpool, missing out on the West Ham skipper is hardly a spanner in the works, with more targets out there in the market.
As well as Brighton duo Mac Allister and Caicedo, Mason Mount and Manuel Ugarte remain as options for Liverpool, and whilst Rice could have been a world-class addition, Jurgen Klopp knows he is far from the only target out there who can change the Reds’ midfield for the better.
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