"I've never seen anything like this..." - Sky Sports share what insider has said about Declan Rice transfer

Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol has revealed what he's heard about Declan Rice's move from West Ham to Arsenal with the transfer yet to be confirmed.

Rice, 24, is set to become the most expensive British player in history, with Arsenal agreeing to pay West Ham a club-record £105m fee for the England international.

Manchester City were also interested in signing Rice but ended their interest to focus on other targets, rather than being dragged into a bidding war with Arsenal.

Rice has since passed a medical with the north London club and has already agreed personal terms with the Gunners.

Arsenal confirmed the signing of Jurrien Timber from Ajax on Friday afternoon and were expected to do the same with Rice.

However, Sky Sports reporter Solhekol has revealed that West Ham have still not received the necessary documentation from Arsenal to complete the transfer.

"As of 4pm, our information was that West Ham had still not received the paperwork from Arsenal's lawyers for them to sign and complete the deal," Solhekol said.

"We asked the question 'is that a concern? What is going on?' We were told that 'yes, it is a bit strange'. These things take a bit of time but they don't usually take this long.

"The deal was agreed 10 days ago and it still hasn't been completed. As of 4pm they hadn't received paperwork but they still thought the deal was going to be completed today [Friday].

"One insider said 'I've never seen anything like this saga before'. But our feeling is that the deal will still be completed."

Should his deal be completed in time, Rice could join up with the Arsenal squad ahead of their pre-season tour of the United States.

Arsenal are expected to travel to the USA this weekend, with their next pre-season friendly coming against an MLS All-Star XI at Washington's Audi Field on Thursday.

They will then take on Manchester United in another warm-up match at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 22.

Topics: Declan Rice, Arsenal, West Ham United, Transfers, Premier League

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

@rory_ocallaghan