Manchester City have pulled out of the race to sign Declan Rice and will not match Arsenal’s £105m bid for the West Ham midfielder.
Arsenal have submitted a club-record third proposal worth an initial £100m with £5m in add-ons for Rice, a bid which would make the 24-year-old the most expensive British footballer of all time.
Manchester City had an offer for Rice turned down this week and have now decided to withdraw their interest in the England international, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that the European champions have no intention of entering a bidding war.
City’s proposal was worth £90m including add-ons and Pep Guardiola’s side are not prepared to raise that offer after internal discussions.
West Ham have not made a decision on Arsenal’s latest offer and were awaiting a response from Manchester City, but will now discuss terms with the Gunners over the potential structure of a deal.
Mikel Arteta’s side are understood to have been ‘very confident’ of winning the race for Rice after their latest offer was submitted on Tuesday evening and City’s withdrawal has now left Arsenal in pole position to sign the midfielder.
