Breaking: Declan Rice: Arsenal sign England midfielder from West Ham for £105m

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of England midfielder Declan Rice from West Ham for £100m plus £5m in add-ons.

The Gunners’ announcement comes after the 24-year-old issued an open letter to Hammers fans saying how ‘tough’ a decision it had been to leave the club.

Rice has moved on after captaining West Ham to the Europa Conference League title last season.

“I’ve been looking at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons and the trajectory they’ve been on,” he said.

“Not last season but the season before, they [only] finished fifth, but you could see the style of play Mikel was implementing.

“Last season was an outstanding season, blowing pretty much every team out of the water with the exception of Manchester City.”

Rice is Arsenal’s third major signing this summer as they look to go one better than their second-placed finish in the Premier League last season.

His arrival follows the recruitment of Germany midfielder Kai Havertz from Chelsea in a £65m deal and Netherlands defender Jurrien Timber from Ajax for a fee which could rise to £38.5m.

The initial fee for Rice equals the £100m Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish in 2021.

The Premier League’s record transfer is the £105.6m Chelsea paid Benfica for Enzo Fernandez in January 2023.

Earlier this summer, Jude Bellingham moved from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for an initial £88.5m in a deal which could rise to £115m with add-ons.

More to follow.