West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice is set to be the talk of the town during the summer transfer window.

Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal have all been heavily linked with a move for the Hammers captain, who is set to enter the final 12 months of his contract at the London Stadium once the current season is over. Of course, David Moyes' side do have the option to extend Rice's deal by a further year, but the player himself has made no secret of his desire to play in the UEFA Champions League sooner rather than later.

Arsenal, and most likely Manchester United, will be playing in Europe's premier competition next term, perhaps giving them an edge over the Blues in the race to sign the England international. But there are likely to be plenty of twists and turns yet in the Rice saga, with football.london summarising everything you need to know about the 24-year-old's future below.

A bidding war sparked

According to the Daily Mail, United have officially joined the race to sign Rice, with a bidding war potentially on the horizon—something that West Ham hoped would happen.

It is claimed that Arsenal, who are most advanced in their interest in the England international, are likely to open talks with the Hammers regarding a £90 million deal for Rice. However, this is said to have fallen more than £10 million short of West Ham's valuation of the player.

West Ham's asking price claim

Transfer expert Ben Jacobs has claimed that West Ham may have to settle for less than their asking price when it comes to selling Arsenal target Rice this summer.

"With Declan Rice, a lot of the prep is being done internally at Arsenal as they start to understand what they may need to get Rice and what is more gamesmanship on the West Ham side," Jacobs told Give Me Sport.

"So, this British transfer record number, and David Moyes has even said as large as £120 million, is, in my opinion, unrealistic from West Ham. Comparing Rice to Enzo Fernandez is not necessarily apt. Of course, if we’re comparing footballers to footballers, you can make a comparison. But the situation with Enzo was that he had a sky-high release clause, and Chelsea desperately wanted him. Whereas with Declan Rice, he’s got one year plus a one-year extension left on the contract.

"That affects the valuation, as does Declan Rice's desire to leave West Ham. After being extremely firm on keeping him last summer, there has always been an understanding that Rice could depart for the right opportunity, and West Ham have been resigned in many ways to losing Rice."

Arsenal relationship

Arsenal's strong relations with West Ham put them in a strong position when it comes to trying to sign Rice this summer, according to transfer guru David Ornstein.

Speaking to NBC Sports, Ornstein said, "Declan Rice is the apple of their eye. They went for him in the January window, but they shifted to Moises Caicedo.

"It doesn’t surprise me that they’ve come back for Rice, and he’s the focus of their attention now. I think West Ham would trade if the price was right, but that’s a big if.

"Arsenal look to be in a strong position; as far as I know, they have good relations with West Ham, but the numbers will be high club-to-club and with the player as well."

Bayern enters the race

German transfer guru Florian Plettenberg has confirmed that Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel is extremely keen to prise Rice away from the London Stadium this summer. Writing on Twitter, Plettenburg said: "News #Rice: He‘s one of the desired players of #Tuchel confirmed. Bayern bosses are also convinced that he’s the perfect defensive midfielder for Bayern.

"There were talks with the players management. Tuchel is 100% involved. But Bayern is aware of the fact that Arsenal is pushing for him. His price: around £70m. Very difficult transfer target. @SkySportDE."

United battle

Arsenal are expected to lodge a structured £90 million offer for Rice, but West Ham want considerably more for their captain, according to the Daily Mail.

Their report claims that the Hammers believe that Manchester United are more likely to meet their demands for the 24-year-old. It is said that if the Gunners miss out on a deal for Rice, they will look to sign one of Ruben Neves, Martin Zubimendi, or Moises Caicedo instead.

West Ham make a triple Arsenal request.

According to Football Transfers, senior figures at West Ham want a lump sum up front for Rice, which is said to be between £85 million and £95 million.However, the report states that the Hammers boss wants a part-exchange swap deal to immediately strengthen his side.

Football Transfers claims that the Arsenal players Moyes has his eye on are Reiss Nelson, Folarin Balogun, and Albert Sambi-Lokonga. Interestingly, the former sees his contract with the Gunners expire at the end of next month, and he'll soon be available for free.

Chelsea suffers a setback.

Chelsea had Declan Rice at the top of their list of transfer targets this summer, but things have happened behind the scenes that 'did not go down very well with him and his family', according to @LondonsFirst_, backed up by Simon Phillips.

Offer expected in June

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal want to sign two midfielders and are preparing an official offer for Rice, which is expected to be submitted in June.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano said: "Arsenal are now preparing and thinking of the first bid for Declan Rice. It has not been submitted yet, but they are preparing that bid internally, which means that they are waiting to understand how much West Ham want in order to submit the first proposal."

He added: "The idea is to submit an official proposal for Declan Rice in June."

Xhaka exit

Arsenal could already be making room for Rice in the midfield with the news that Granit Xhaka looks set to leave the club.

Football.london understands the Gunners star is in advanced talks over a move to Bayer Leverkusen, with a deal set at around £13 million.

Arsenal prepares an offer

According to the Telegraph, Arsenal are putting together an offer worth a club-record £92 million for Rice, although West Ham want as much as possible of that sum paid up front.

It is also claimed that the Gunners remain confident that they can agree a deal with the Hammers despite interest from Manchester United.

West Ham's decision

West Ham have seemingly set the exact date they would be willing to enter negotiations to sell star man Declan Rice this summer, according to a new report.

The Hammers are almost mathematically safe from relegation, which could see the club increase their asking price for the 24-year-old.

Although there is not much left to play for in their Premier League campaign, David Moyes's side are in the Europa League semi-final. As per the Evening Standard, West Ham plan to delay talks for Rice until their European adventure is over, which could be as late as June 7, which is when the final is set to take place.