West Ham Confirm Declan Rice ‘Wants To Leave’ As Arsenal Prepare Club-Record Did

West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan has confirmed Declan Rice “wants to leave” as Arsenal prepare a club-record bid for the Hammers skipper.

The midfielder is the Gunners’ No1 transfer target this summer as they bid to compete for the Premier League title again next season.

Arsenal have held off making a formal approach due to the fact West Ham were in the final of the Europa Conference League, which they won on Wednesday against Fiorentina.

The Hammers, and Rice, did not want any distractions before that and asked for talks around his future to be delayed until after it.

Arsenal will now make a formal approach and West Ham have set an asking price of £120million for their captain. The Gunners, however, will hope they can strike a deal for closer to £90m.

Rice is attracted to the idea of playing for Arsenal, but he is also drawing interest from Bayern Munich and Manchester United.

West Ham are resigned to losing the 24-year-old, who has one year left on his contract with the option to extend it by a further 12 months.

“We promised him he could go,” Sullivan told talkSPORT on Thursday morning. “He set his heart on going.

“You can’t ask for a man who has committed more to us this season.

“In due course, he has to get on and we have to get a replacement – or several replacements.

“It’s not something we want to happen. We offered him £200,000 a week 18 months ago. He turned it down. It’s cost him £10million to stay at West Ham in that time (in lost wages).

“He wants to go. You can’t keep a player who doesn’t want to be there.”