West Ham are ready to sign the contracts for Declan Rice to become an Arsenal player.
The Hammers are waiting for Arsenal’s lawyers to approve the final wording of the deal and, once that is done, they will sign and Rice will complete his move to north London.
Arsenal are hopeful of completing the signing of Rice before the squad flies to the USA for their pre-season tour on Sunday.
The England international will make a switch to the Emirates Stadium over rivals Manchester City, who did lodge some offers of their own before backing out of the running. With contracts drafted and medicals claimed to have been passed, at this stage there’s only a final green light to be given before the announcement.
With such a huge deal, it’s a signal of intent from the Gunners to their rivals as to where they want to be next season and for the years to come. However, there will also have to be some movement within the squad itself to keep balance and make room for the finances to work out too.
Arsenal are also expected to confirm the signing of Jurrien Timber, with the club hopeful of including the defender in their squad for their friendly away to FC Nurnberg on Thursday.
Timber has completed his medical ahead of his £38m transfer from Ajax and the paperwork is being finalised on a long-term contract.
The Gunners will pay £34m up front for Timber, with the remainder of the fee made up in performance-related add-ons.
Timber is being signed as a right-back – a role that was predominantly fulfilled by Ben White last season – but can also play at centre-back, and has previously attracted interest from Manchester United.