Declan Rice to Arsenal: ex-West Ham captain becomes most expensive English PL footballer - salary explained

After weeks of negotiation, Declan Rice has been confirmed as Arsenal’s latest recruit and the deal has now meant he becomes the most expensive English footballer in the Premier League.

The West Ham captain had agreed a deal with Mikel Arteta’s squad at the end of June but it has taken a further two weeks to confirm with the England star now priced at £105 million - a £5m increase on the previous record which had been set by Jack Grealish’s move to Manchester City.

The Gunners are set to travel to the United States on Sunday for a three-match tour as part of their pre-season preparations and the latest news that Arsenal have finally signed their number one transfer target means that the England 24-year-old can now join them stateside.

Rice had been with West Ham since 2014, after being let go by the Chelsea youth squad, and his first professional contract with the club was signed in December 2015, a month before he turned 17.

The midfielder made nearly 250 appearances for the London-club, scoring 15 goals in total and was part of the 2022/23 squad that won West Ham’s first European trophy since 1963 with a win over Fiorentina confirming their title as winners of the European Conference League.

The 24-year-old has also won West Ham’s Young Player of the Year on three occasions; West Ham Player of the Year three times and was named as the UEFA Europa Conference League Player of the Season in 2022-23.

Rice’s first start for Arsenal could come against the MLS All-Stars on Thursday 20 July but he could feature in Arteta’s squad to face Manchester City in the FA Community Shield final on Sunday 6 August.

Arsenal kick start their Premier League campaign on Saturday 12 August at 12.30pm with a home fixture against Nottingham Forest.