Arsenal could break British transfer record after missing out on Moises Caicedo, he'd cost more than Enzo Fernadez

Arsenal are serious about signing Declan Rice in the summer, having failed to land Moises Caicedo in the January window, according to a reputable journalist.

Yesterday Mikel Arteta’s side signed Jorginho from Chelsea in a Deadline Day deal worth £12million.

The Gunners had previously submitted two bids worth up to £70million for Brighton’s Caicedo, but the Seagulls rebuffed both approaches for the 21-year-old midfielder.

Instead, Arsenal secured the Jorginho on an 18-month contract, with an option to extend the Italy international's deal by a further year.

The 31-year-old signed for a cut-price fee, given he was in the final six months of his Chelsea contract.

Indeed, Arsenal’s move for the player will likely boost the club’s immediate title hopes, while it signals they will spend big on a new signing in the summer.

Rice to Arsenal?

According to Dean Jones, Arsenal will “definitely” bid for West Ham and England international Rice in the summer, after missing out on Caicedo.

Jones told GiveMeSport: “The Declan Rice interest is very serious, I’m told.

“I was very doubtful about the authenticity of that rumour at first but I’ve checked it out several times with different sources and they are definitely going to have a crack at signing him.”

Rice will enter the final year of his Hammers contract in the summer, though he could still cost interested parties a sizeable fee.

The Evening Standard claimed that Arsenal would be willing to break their transfer record to sign the 24-year-old, valuing the player at around £75million.

However, West Ham allegedly want more than £100million, and will seek “well north” of the figure to sell their star midfielder.

In turn, Rice could cost even more than the British-record £107million Chelsea paid Benfica to sign Enzo Fernandez on Tuesday night.

While Rice’s current deal is winding down the Hammers have the option of extend it by a further 12 months.