West Ham make Declan Rice Arsenal transfer reveal as agreement confirmed

West Ham have published their accounts for the financial year ending May 2023 which show an interesting detail about the fee received by Arsenal for Declan Rice. The Gunners chased the signature of the Hammers captain for much of the summer before an agreement was finally reached which would see Arsenal pay £100million up front and a potential further £5million in add-ons to bring Rice to Emirates Stadium.

Despite having the pressure of being the most expensive English player, the 24-year-old has made a stunning start to life under Mikel Arteta. While Arsenal currently sit fourth in the Premier League table, Rice has rarely put a foot wrong since joining although the north Londoners have gone through somewhat of a recent rough patch having won just twice in their last seven games.

Prior to his arrival, the tense talks from the summer took longer than expected as both clubs attempted to negotiate a more favourable package with West Ham wanting more of the fee up front while Arsenal preferred to offer up the money in instalments.

As was reported before the start of the season, the expectation was that the fee would be paid in two equal instalments with West Ham initially receiving a large portion of the money in the summer before having the £100million in full by 2025. West Ham's accounts suggest they have moved to get a portion of the money in September 2023 via a loan, a common practice in football.

In the full report of West Ham's accounts, in the post-balance sheet events section it reads: «A future transfer fee receivable of £30m due on 31 July 2024 was accelerated without recourse via Barclays Bank PLC on 27 September 2023. The value of cash received after deduction of interest charges was £28.2m.

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