Although their initial offer of £80 million plus £10 million in add-ons was turned down, Arsenal are still the favorites to capture Rice, and a four-way battle is developing for the 24-year-old.
All four of the top teams in the Premier League have expressed interest in Rice, according to insiders at West Ham, though the club itself has declined to comment.
A bidding battle is welcomed by West Ham's management because they hope it will push the price up and over the £100 million ceiling that Mail Sport reported they had set as a minimum last month. The price Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez during the most recent January transfer window is the current British transfer record, at £106.8 million.
The Rice bidding war may become a summer epic if West Ham
A Hammers insider reportedly called the structure of Arsenal's first offer "embarrassing" on Thursday, however Mikel Arteta's team will come back with a better offer, according to Sky Sports. A second "top club" is reportedly planning to make a proposal for the midfielder in the next 24 hours, according to The Daily Telegraph.
Rice will be free to depart this summer, as West Ham promised him when he rejected their most recent contract extension at £200,000 per week.
After Mark Noble resigned as captain, the England international earned respect by deciding to stay on and guiding the team to their first trophy since 1980 by winning the Europa Conference League.
West Ham is rumored to be interested in any potential offers Man City might make for the player.
The way Arsenal wanted to spread out the contract over four years was also alleged to have frustrated the Hammers.
Last Wednesday, Mail Sport reported that West Ham hoped to get the guaranteed portion of Rice's transfer fee by 2025.
West Ham was one of the teams listed on UEFA's financial fair play watchlist in September, and they need the whole amount to be deposited into their account as soon as possible to allow them comfortably abide by the rules.
The Treble-winners' interest in Rice comes after weeks in which rival United had made the midfielder the center of their transfer plans.
Recently, Mason Mount, a friend of Rice's and a teammate from England, has been the main target of the Red Devils' transfer efforts.
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