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Transfer data courtesy of Sky Sports News, with all fees including potential add ons.
Arsenal sign West Ham’s Rice for £105m
Arsenal have signed Declan Rice for £105m from West Ham. Rice moves to the Emirates Stadium on an initial £100m fee, with £5m to be paid in add-ons.
The transfer is just below the British record, with Chelsea paying £106.8m for midfielder Enzo Fernandez in January of this year.
Rice brings a decade-long spell at West Ham to an end, rising from a youth-team player to club captain. He made 245 appearances for the Hammers since making his first-team debut in 2017 and his final game for the club saw him lift West Ham’s first trophy in 47 years by winning the Europa Conference League final.
Where does Rice’s transfer fee rank among English players?
Jude Bellingham became the most expensive English player of all time when he made the £115m move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid earlier this month.
Rice becomes the second most expensive ever, costing £5m more than the £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish in August 2021.
It would also be only the third time a English club has paid over £100m for a player.
Explained: How Arsenal can afford big-money summer signings
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says that Arsenal’s seemingly enhanced willingness to spend is a ‘reward’ for Mikel Arteta.
“Arsenal are actually in a very strong position when it comes to spending,” he told Sky Sports News.
“The reason for that is they have managed to get their wages under control.
“Arsenal’s wages are lower than they were in 2018. They are £150m to a £170m less than Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City. That has given them the flexibility to go into the market and buy new players without having to worry too much.
“Plus, they have got the additional benefits of Champions League matches coming in, premium prices and the minimum I would say prize money of £50m from being participants.
“So, you factor that all together and they’ve probably still got a bit of leeway in terms of what they can spend over this present window.”
When asked if there’s been a strategy change at Arsenal, he added: “Yes. They had a retrenchment. They went through some fallow years when they weren’t qualifying for the Champions League.
“They have managed to get rid of high earners, the likes of Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang off that payroll, and that has given them the ability to now go into the market and be very competitive and try to match other clubs.
“Arsenal used to be known as the Bank of England club. They’ve always been well run financially, and I think this change in terms of spending is a reward for Mikel Arteta in terms of his ability to get them into those Champions League places again, which means so much in terms of enhanced revenue.”
Follow the summer transfer window with Sky Sports
Who will be on the move this summer ahead of the transfer window closing at 11pm on September 1 in England and midnight in Scotland?
Keep up to date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports’ digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
