Pep Guardiola 'doesn't truly want' Declan Rice as Mikel Arteta theory proposed
Manchester City and Arsenal are both interested in signing Declan Rice, but former England striker Eni Aluko is skeptical that both clubs are as enthusiastic about the West Ham midfielder.
According to Eni Aluko, Manchester City do not want Declan Rice and have merely bid £90 million for the West Ham striker as a favor to Arsenal.
Rice is the subject of a bidding war between Arsenal and Manchester City, with the 24-year-old West Ham midfielder poised to leave this summer. The Hammers have turned down three bids so far, two from Arsenal and one from Manchester City, and are holding out for their £100 million valuation.
Mikel Arteta is determined to sign Rice, his number one transfer goal, and Arsenal intends to counter-offer after their current approach of £90 million - made up of £75 million plus add-ons - was refused. City's rejected offer was for £80 million plus £10 million in add-ons, and former Lionesses forward Aluko has an idea about it.
"There's a lot of cat and mouse going on here, and as a sporting director, I used to do this a lot," Aluko remarked on talkSPORT. "I used to call a club and say, 'right, can you put a bid in?' and that would entice my owner to put in a higher bid." It's similar to an auction.
"I don't believe Manchester City want to sign Declan Rice." I think what is going on here is that Arteta has taken up the phone to Pep [Guardiola] and said 'Arsenal are going to do the incremental bid strategy, if you put a bid in, then that will push my owner'. I believe there is some of that going on here."
Aluko added, "I'm not sure why Arsenal is taking this incremental approach, but it appears to me that Man City coming in later on will benefit Arsenal."
"The fans will jump on this now and say, 'Wait a minute, if you let Declan Rice go to Manchester City when he was our number one target, that says a lot about Arsenal.'" So I believe there is some of that going on. I used to do it all the time, and it worked."
Rice is said to favor a move to Arsenal since it would allow him to keep his existing life in London. Following an excellent 2022/23 season, Arteta has sold his vision to Rice, who is now awaiting the outcome of the bidding war.
West Ham expects Rice to go during the summer transfer window, but they are prepared to play the long game. Manager David Moyes has stated that the team is seeking at least £100 million for their best player, who helped them win the Europa Conference League last season.
Arsenal expects Granit Xhaka to join Bayer Leverkusen, while Juventus is interested in Thomas Partey. Rice would become the focal point of the midfield, with Chelsea's Kai Havertz likely to join and Ajax defender Jurrien Timber another target.
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