Arsenal have become ‘very confident’ of landing both Declan Rice and Kai Havertz this summer despite having bids turned down for both players last week, it has been reported.
The Gunners have been long-term admirers of Rice, and have emerged as frontrunners for his signature despite interest from Manchester City, though they saw an £80m + £10m in potential add ons offer turned down earlier in the week.
Rice himself is also thought to prefer a move to the Emirates Stadium rather than anywhere else this summer, with the midfielder having been convinced of his role in Mikel Arteta’s young Arsenal side.
He is set to be joined by Havertz should Arsenal be able to reach an agreement with Chelsea, with the 24-year-old keen to join the Gunners and Arsenal having already having seen one bid for the German turned down but the two sides thought to be closing in on an agreement.
According to German journalist Florian Plettenberg, Arsenal are ‘very confident to sign both’ players, with Arteta himself pushing to sign Havertz ahead of Bayern Munich interest in the pair of stars.
It would represent a major outlay for the Gunners, with Rice due to set them back a club record fee and well over £100m, while Havertz will be less than Chelsea’s £75m asking price but could well still be in excess of £50m.
Southampton midfielder Romeo Lavia has emerged as a potential target after missing out on Brighton’s Moises Caicedo, while Everton’s Amadou Onana has also been mentioned as a candidate previously.
Meanwhile, exits are also set to begin soon, with the likes of Kieran Tierney, Nicolas Pepe, Cedric Soares and Folarin Balogun all expected to leave the club before the September 1st transfer deadline.
