ARSENAL are facing a race against time to complete the signing of £100million Declan Rice before they fly to the USA on Sunday.
A club record deal for the 24-year-old England star is going right down to the wire as frustrated West Ham wait for the Gunners board to sign off the final paperwork.
Declan Rice is set to join Arsenal but the transfer deal has been dragging on with West Ham frustrated
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is eager to get Rice on board when his squad takes off for their 11-day pre-season trip to Washington, New Jersey and Los Angeles.
But last season’s Premier League runners-up now have little more than 24 hours to get the deal over the line before they head to the airport.
And until all of West Ham’s conditions are met, Rice will be waiting by his phone for the green light to make the move.
The West Ham captain spent the previous week in Portugal improving his fitness; he is now back in England.
Following his extended season playing for England in their Euro qualifiers in June, he has been excused from the Hammers’ preseason tour to Australia.
And perplexed manager David Moyes acknowledges he is unaware of when or when Rice would formally depart the team.
More than a week ago, the two clubs agreed to a cost of £100 million plus $5 million in future add-ons, and Rice has already had his Arsenal physical.
But with the haggling still going on, there is now the possibility that he could be forced to postpone his travel plans and fly out on his own later next week.
However, given that the negotiations are still ongoing, it is now possible that he will have to cancel his travel arrangements and depart on his own later next week.
Oleksandr Zinchenko’s inability to go with Arsenal on their preseason tour of the United States as talks over his £30 million transfer from Manchester City dragged on proved a problem for them last season.
Arteta wants Rice to join his team as soon as possible and is pressing the club to complete the transfer tomorrow in an effort to prevent a repeat of that circumstance.
Mikel Arteta is itching to get the deal completed before Arsenal head on their pre-season tour
STORY PHOTO: Bukayo Saka’s journey from humble schoolboy to one of the Best Players Arsenal and a £2.3m Dream Home
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, an English star, is having a successful season in the Premier League.
This season the winger, from London , has clocked up an impressive 14 goals and 11 assists in 38 games, and has been instrumental in his domestic club’s success.
But the 21-year-old forward did not always have it easy, having started life from very humble beginnings.
Saka lived with his nigerian parents and brothers in humble housing roughly five miles from Wembley as a child.
The family resided in a modest two-story semi-detached house in the London neighborhood of Greenford in the district of Ealing.
He began playing football every night with his father Yomi and older brother Abayomi when he was three years old on a neighborhood green.
He played for Greenford Celtic when he was younger until Arsenal noticed him when he was seven.
His mother Adenike and father, who worked menial jobs to pay the bills while driving him to football in the evenings and on weekends, made many sacrifices as he rose through the ranks.
As a youngster he played for his local club Greenford Celtic until he was scouted by Arsenal aged seven (Pictured: Saka at a young age at Arsenal’s academy)
He started his academic life at edward Betham of e Primary School School, where his sporting prowess also showe
Greenford High School where Bukayo Saka was a pupil, gaining all As and A*s at GCSe
As a boy he went to edward Betham C of e Primary School and then Greenford High School, duly leaving the latter in the summer of 2018 with four A*s and three As in his GCSes.
The footballer’s teachers, at the time, described him as ‘the humble boy who achieved his dreams as well as a first-class education’.
The devout Christian started his day with a prayer, which read: ‘Heavenly Father, you have given this new day to me, help me to make it one that pleases you by doing my best in everything. Amen.’
His head teacher Caroline Chamberlain told The Times he was an ‘all rounder’ and a ‘really lovely, conscientious, hardworking boy.’
After leaving school he continued to climb the ranks at Arsenal’s academy and broke into the first team during the 2019 / 2020 campaign.
The following year he started to play more regularly for the Gunners, scoring five goals and getting three assists in 32 appearances.
After heartbreak at euro 2020,he had a very impressive domestic season with Arsenal, bagging 11 goals and seven assists across the year
He explained why he choose to play for England than Nigeria by saying, “My whole family has been in England for what seems like forever.” All of my documentation from when I was a child stated that I am English; perhaps, Nigerians will comprehend.
He won the club’s season player of the award and was rightfully selected to represent England at the Euros.
Saka claimed there was never any question he would pick England over the country of his parents, Nigeria.
Although he made his England debut the previous year, Euro 2020 marked his first significant international competition.
In his first game in the competition, he impressed fans and commentators with his man of the match performance against the Czech Republic.
After that stunning display, manager Gareth Southgate chose Saka to start ahead of household names such Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden.
He started in some the country’s biggest games including Germany in the last 16, Denmark in the Semi Final, while he was substituted on in the final against Italy
England beat Czech Republic 1-0 in their final group game to progress to the knockout stages.
Bukayo bought the enormous house in leafy Hertfordshire in november 2019 for £2.3m – just as he turned 18
Bukayo, who had been given his first professional contract by Arsenal at 17, is thought to have moved his parents and siblings in with him soon after
The house came complete with spa and walk-in wardrobes but he wanted to personalise it and workmen have been upgrading it regularly ever since
The exact details of the upgrade have not been revealed but it’s understood the renovations have been extensive. A team of workmen were even working in the grounds today to further modernise the property, which dwarfs its neighbours
He said recently: ‘My whole family has been in England like forever. When I grew up all my documents stated that I am english, hopefully nigerian people will understand’.
However, his penalty miss in the shootout against Italy ultimately cost England the cup, and the ugly racist abuse he suffered afterwards overshadowed a remarkable tournament for him and England.
nonetheless the youngster bounced back the following year with a very impressive domestic season with Arsenal, bagging 11 goals and seven assists.
In his personal life it was reported by MailOnline in June 2021 that he had swapped his modest two-bed family home he grew up in for a £2.3m luxury pad with his proud parents.
Just as he turned 18 he copped the £2.3million mansion in leafy Hertfordshire in november 2019 and was thought to have moved in with his parents and siblings soon after.
The house came complete with spa and walk-in wardrobes but he wanted to personalise it and workmen have been upgrading it regularly ever since.
The kitchen-diner looks out to the back garden of the property through huge sliding glass doors
Following his breakthrough into the first team at Arsenal, he quietly upgraded by buying a six-bedroomed contemporary mansion (pictured – an artist’s impression of the building) with sprawling grounds
The stunning kitchen includes a breakfast bar and island hob, with separate ovens, hanging lights and and a seating area
The exact details of the upgrade have not been revealed but it’s understood the renovations have been extensive.
A team of workmen were even working in the grounds today to further modernise the property, which dwarfs its neighbours.
Saka is in a relationship with his girlfriend Tolami Benson, 22, who is a year older than the football star.
The 19 year old grew up in modest circumstances just five miles from Wembley where he lived with his parents and siblings
Saka is in a relationship with his girlfriend Tolami Benson, 22, who is a year older than the football star
Ms Benson has 6,000 followers on the platform and is spotted on holiday in the sun or dining with friends
Ms Benson has more than 6,000 followers on the platform and is spotted on holiday in the sun or dining with friends.
The pair have reportedly been dating since late 2020 and have kept their relationship secreт, with neither one of them following the other on Instagram.
Although the two have not confirmed their relationship in public, fans said the two were going out after they individually posted photos of each other on a yacht in Dubai.
Source: dailymail.co.uk