According to a report by Constantin Eckner of ESPN, Bayern Munich could be ready to move heaven and earth to land Declan Rice from West Ham, ahead of Premier League suitors like Arsenal.
While most reports from England maintain that Rice wants to stay in the league, the German giants are becoming increasingly confident of signing the 24-year-old as the club’s new defensive midfielder. Thomas Tuchel reportedly has Rice as his top target for the summer, to complement Joshua Kimmich in the starting XI.
Per ESPN, Bayern are willing to go all the way to make this happen. Not only could they pay West Ham’s asking fee of €100m or more, but also offer a bumper salary to fend off teams like Arsenal, Manchester United, and other likely teams said to be interested.
Such an outlay would obviously shatter the club’s previous transfer record, but this kind of spending might be justified after the season Bayern Munich just had. The article already mentions potential departures, and sales of players such as Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Lucas Hernandez, and Benjamin Pavard to generate income.
With competitiveness in the Champions League on the line, and the midfield a clear weak link against Manchester City in this season’s CL quarter final, the bosses want to go into next season with that area of the pitch shored up.
Now, one question remains: Is Declan Rice THE guy? Can he fit into the club’s midfield as seamlessly as people think? And does he even want to come here? Well, that’s outside the scope of this report, but we do cover all that and more in our podcast. If you want more info, then listen to it below or on Spotify.
As always, stay tuned for more transfer news!