If you ask any Gooner which position they believe the team will sign in the summer, more than 75 percent will say midfield. It is believed that that it is is a position Arteta would like to strengthen. If you’re fortunate, that Gooner won’t stop at just identifying the midfielder; he’ll also tell you that Declan Rice could be joining Arteta’s project this summer.
A transfer fantasy about Rice being Arteta’s top 2023 transfer target was hatched during the winter transfer window. Since then, it has appeared probable that the West Ham player will be a Gunner by the 2023–24 season. With this in mind, many are wondering how much Arsenal will pay to bring him on board.
According to reports, Arsenal is ready to spend a lot of money on Rice, but Gary Neville isn’t convinced it’s a good idea. Though speaking about the rumoured prices that Declan Rice could move for this summer, with both Man United and Arsenal supposedly willing to pay fortunes for the West Ham star, Neville rejected that anyone should spend such big money on Rice, whom he views as a lot less valuable.
Neville said on Sky Sports, “But for me, I wouldn’t be spending £110 million or £120 million on Rice if I was Manchester United this summer. I would spend £50 million to £60 million on Declan Rice, but I wouldn’t spend the figures being reported because I feel in that position, I still feel like he’s got a lot of growth.”
On why he doesn’t feel a club should spend big on a player like Rice, he argues, “It doesn’t feel like a £100m position. If you’re spending £100 million, you’ve got to have somebody who’s scoring 25 goals and getting 10 or 15 assists. That’s where £100m sit for me, even though the market gets destroyed and goes up every year in each position.”
Anyway, he still backed Rice to flourish with a change of system, admitting it is about time he left West Ham: “I just feel like if Declan Rice can go to another club and play a couple of years somewhere, that would be great.”
Rice could thrive in Arsenal’s system, and Arteta has demonstrated that he is the man to bring out the best in quality prospects. Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus, and Oleksander Zinchenko are three players who have been reborn under Arteta; Rice could be the next, although for a price like that you would expect the finished product.
Darren N
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Was Harry Maguire worth nearly that much?
It’s like talking for the sake of it. Vacuous
Neville is right. 110M on one player is too much for Arsenal unless they have more funds available to spend for other areas too. They need a good striker with physical presence and a backup for Saka too . Also to play across all trophies they need to sign more than 1 MF
The word value is often misunderstood as something being set arbitrarily by some super powered entities. Agents in a market interact with each other in a bidding process to set the value or price for an object. It is the market that sets the value or price.
There is also the idea of comparable value for defining value by the prices of some comparable objects. Does Rice’s value look the same as Mbappe? Not really. But Party for us and Cassemiro for Man U, just to name two cases, proved how critical this position can be to a team. Would anyone ever expect a 25 goal and/or 15 assist season for this position? Maybe not.
Hope Man U listens to Neville and lower their bid. It is only good for us.
Neville is correct on this, ridiculous valuation, if correct.
I think he’d be a good buy but He’s definitely not worth that much, make no mistake he’s a great player.
Arsenal is pretty much covered in this position in the short term and Arteta has shown before he won’t buy for the sake of buying.
I believe a lot can change between now and the summer transfer window, targets can change and I don’t think Edu and Arteta have made up their minds about the targets to pursue. I believe Arsenal is still scouting extensively.
There will be an abundance of top quality players that plays in Declan Rice position this summer.
Though solid in the number six position protecting the back four, he’s not the gaffer type of baller such as Rodri, Jorginho, Lacottelli or even Zubimendi so the gaffer will walk away if the price is not right.
A clear case in point is Tierney and Zinchenko, Tierney is a better defender in my opinion but Zinchenko is a better ball player and I don’t need to tell who he prefers.
Personally, I think that once the figures go beyond the 100 million Rice becomes out of our reach and we may as well consider him a Manchester United player. Is he worth it? Well, unfortunately Yes. Rice would give Arsenal a perfect symmetry, covering for Partey and taking the pressure off Xhaka and Odegaard in those difficult games. Just the player we need going into Champions League football and one who you can’t really put a price tag on.
I also agree with Neville, as much as he annoys me. Declan Rice is a decent player, not a great player! He does what he has to do but not much more than that. He doesn’t have the attributes of either Partey, Oedegard or Jorghino because he’s Declan Rice and fits in well with West Ham. If you take all of west ham’s games over the latest three seasons, how many of those games would offer up the plaudits of Rice’s contribution! He’s okay and, could do well at Arsenal but….. we’d do more for home than he would for us
Meant to say…..we’d do more for him, than he would do for us
No way .. 50mill is way too much for this guy!
@prof Wenger, I totally agree with you, I don’t see anything so spectacular about him. He should be between 35-45mil, anything more than that is a waste.
A heartfelt plea to any JA writer who insists on reporting what Neville thinks; PLEASE DESIST, as Neville is widely disliked by almost every Gooner and his comments only attract scornful posts in reply.
I have yet to read a Gooner say anything positive about Nevilles widely acknowledged hatred of OUR CLUB.
I too have nothing positive to say about the biased Neville and hope to God he is never mentioned on here by any article writer ever again.
I mostly agree, but really, do you think he “likes” City more than us?
Doubtful, as the story goes that he’s reluctant to leave London. Can you really blame him☺️😏?
ArGooner, If I reply “I couldn’t care less what he thinks,” I hope you will fully understand my take on Neville!
That is not to say I do not respect him as a pundit, WHEN he keeps away from discussing his own beloved United and his own hatred and understandable jealousy of our far superior club and team.
Sky Sports and BT have made an industry out of pundits endlesly discussing games, both before, during and after and I admit to lapping it up, generally speaking.
But like all of US, Neville is human and biased towards the team he loves.
In a way I cannot blame him for that but I don’t wish to HEAR OR READ his biased take against my own team, to which I am also biased.
Is that being fair minded? I hope so.
The reported asking price for Declan Rice is too high, not value for money and Edu and the scouting team have shown recent good form in buying excellent players for the “right” price. Arsenal’s tactics at that excessive price should be to make Manchester United to pay over the odds to get Declan Rice (given Arsenal has already agreed personal terms with the player).
It should be remembered that Arsenal probably has better value players on their radar. In addotion the quality of the Hale End graduate midfielders currently on loan should not be discounted (now older and more experienced).
I’d say he was worth £ 100K of anyone’s money, and if he does leave West Ham it will be for this or more. An English international midfielder aged 24, with a remarkable fitness record, and If we get him I’m sure he won’t be bench-sitting waiting for Partey to be injured.
Definitely another overrated player priced way more than he is worth. Rice is a 50mill player.. 60 at best
Definitely another overrated player priced way more than he is worth. Rice is not on the same level as the likes of Rabiot.. Players we should be going for imo..
Probably not but I trust Arteta to make the right decision.
As long as he helps us win, improves us and we can recoup the money back over time, then it will be worth it.
Unfortunately the way today’s market works then yes would have to cough iup that sum of money for Rice and I would pay it he would be a fantastic signing for Arsenal I read Roy Keans comments on him saying he needs to add a lot more to his game to justify that amount of money all I would say is that at Arsenal he will be playing with much better players than he is now and with me that will take his game to the next level I would take him all day long!
Not a chance. He’s very good but that price is stupid. He is good defensively and a great athlete but that’s all and there are other players like that for less. He’s no Veratti or Casemiro. I’d like us to go in for Milinkovic-Savic. At 6’4″ he’s got size and can weigh in with goals that you don’t get with Rice. He’s like Soucek but good.
Its a well worn cliche to say that any player is worth what some other club prepared to pay for him. But it remains true, I suggest!
There can never be a definitive worth to any player, as players are worth more to some clubs than to others and often that worth is MOREto the club he already plays for than to any other.
I suggest Tielemans falls into that category.