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
Rice is excited to join the Arsenal team when they go for their 11-day preseason trip to Washington, New Jersey, and Los Angeles, according to manager Mikel Arteta.
The Premier League runners-up from last year had less than 24 hours left before leaving for the airport, though.
And Rice will be by his phone, waiting for the go-ahead to complete the move, until all of West Ham’s requirements have been satisfied.
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.
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.
It’s now likely that he will have to change his travel plans and leave on his own later next week because the negotiations are still going on.
Last season, Arsenal faced difficulties as a result of Oleksandr Zinchenko’s unwillingness to join them on their preseason tour of the United States while negotiations over his £30 million deal from Manchester City dragged on.
In order to avoid a repeat of that situation, Arteta is pressuring the club to complete Rice’s transfer tomorrow. He wants Rice to join his side as soon as possible.
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.
When he was three years old, he started playing football on a nearby green with his father Yomi and older brother Abayomi every night.
Prior to Arsenal’s discovery of him when he was seven, he played for Greenford Celtic when he was younger.
As he progressed through the ranks, his mother Adenike and father made numerous sacrifices by working menial jobs to pay the bills and chauffeuring him to football practices in the nights and on weekends.
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