
| 𝗔𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗽 (June 24)

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𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗲:
• Man City want assurances from Rice that he wants to join them before launching an official bid. [@MirrorFootball]
• Arsenal are preparing a third offer, which is understood to meet the Hammers’ valuation. [@MirrorFootball]
• West Ham are confident that a bid of £100m is on its way from at least one of the interested parties for Rice. Man City will not make a bid if Rice remains steadfast in his desire to join Arsenal. [@MirrorFootball]
• West Ham are encouraging Arsenal to make a third bid for Rice to bring a speedy end to the saga. [@talkSPORT]
• Man City have held talks with West Ham over Rice, but are yet to make a formal offer after being told the 24-year-old prefers a move to Arsenal. [@talkSPORT]
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| ExWHUEmployee: “We can confirm that Man City held talks with West Ham over the sale of Declan Rice but did not lodge an official bid. It was made very clear that Declan Rice really favours a move to Arsenal over the two. The main factor is Arteta.” [via @afcstuff]
• Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is doing his best to make the Declan Rice deal happen. He has been pushing for days. [@FabrizioRomano]
• Arsenal have confirmed to West Ham their plan to submit one more bid for Rice. The structure of deal/payment terms is key for West Ham. [@FabrizioRomano]
• Rice wants Arsenal and of course is flattered by the City interest, but he wants Arsenal. Arteta for 6 months now has been clear and passionate about what he envisions for Rice in his side. [@AlexGoldberg_]
• Arsenal believe Rice’s athleticism means he could also play as one of their two No8s. [@sr_collings]
• In emergencies Rice could also be deployed at centre-back. [@sr_collings]
𝗝𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿:
• Timber is on verge of joining Arsenal and the verbal agreement is done. Deal depends on the the second official offer now with the agreement expected to be between €40-45m transfer fee + bonus payments. [@Plettigoal]
• It’s only Arsenal that’s in the running for Jurrien Timber at this stage. Ajax are waiting for the Gunners second proposal that’s to be submitted soon. Personal terms were agreed two days ago. [@FabrizioRomano]
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| De Telegraaf journalist Mike Verweij on Timber: “Arsenal is his dream and priority. He set his sights on that.”
• Arsenal believe Timber could be best as a right-back, tucking into the midfield. Zinchenko does a similar role on the left and the idea would be that Timber could come into the side on the opposite flank to replicate that when Zinny is out. [@sr_collings]
𝗞𝗮𝗶 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘇:
• Havertz to undergo medical in the next hours. [@FabrizioRomano]
• Arsenal also hope to officially announce Kai Havertz from Chelsea in the next 48 hours after he underwent a medical over the weekend. [@MirrorFootball]
• There is also a belief at Arsenal that Havertz could thrive if used as a No8 in midfield. [@sr_collings]
𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘆
• The Saudi approaches for Partey are concrete but there’s still no firm bid to the player as it’s just initial conversations. His priority remains European football and Arsenal would be open to let him go. The club have no plans to discuss a new deal. [@FabrizioRomano]
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗻
• Arsenal have put a £35million asking price on striker Folarin Balogun. [@TheSunFootball Exclusive]
𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿
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| @FabrizioRomano: “The intention at Arsenal is to focus on Declan Rice, to focus on closing the Kai Havertz deal, and then Jurrien Timber. So, this is why the second midfielder is probably something that will come to the second step of the transfer window.”
• Arsenal are closing in on Timber and retain an interest in Moises Caicedo. [@MirrorFootball]

#afc