Liverpool made a transfer misstep that saw them miss the opportunity to sign Declan Rice, it has been claimed.
On Saturday Arsenal confirmed the signing of Rice from West Ham for £100million plus £5million in add-ons.
The Gunners’ announcement comes after the England midfielder issued an open letter to Hammers fans, stressing how “tough” a decision it had been to leave the club.
The initial fee for Rice equals the £100million Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish.
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Meanwhile, should the add-ons be met, the 24-year-old would cost Arsenal just shy of the Premier League transfer record - the £105.6million Chelsea paid Benfica for Enzo Fernandez in January.
Earlier this summer Jude Bellingham moved from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid for an initial £88.5million, in a deal which could rise to £115million with add-ons.
And it’s likely Liverpool will be kicking themselves, having seen both Bellingham and Rice leave to rival clubs this summer.
Liverpool’s Rice misstep
In need of a midfield revamp, Liverpool were tentatively linked with Rice for months, alongside Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal.
However, the Athletic claim the Reds chose to steer clear of even meeting the player’s camp.
Indeed, the publication states Liverpool were never truly in the running, partly because they had identified Bellingham as their No.1 target.
Given they were in the mix for the 20-year-old’s signature, they did not want his camp to be irked, so never made advances for Rice.
Of course, Liverpool ended up with neither player, which could prove costly, considering their long-serving midfield duo of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson have both been linked to clubs in the Saudi Pro League.
The former has been left out of Liverpool's squad for a training camp in Germany following a £40million bid for him from Al-Ittihad.
Meanwhile, Henderson is a target for Al-Ettifaq, who recently appointed former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard as their new manager.
Rice on Arsenal move
On signing for Arsenal Rice said: "I've been looking at Arsenal over the last couple of seasons and the trajectory they've been on.
"Not last season but the season before, they [only] finished fifth, but you could see the style of play Mikel was implementing.
"Last season was an outstanding season, blowing pretty much every team out of the water with the exception of Manchester City."
Topics: Football, Declan Rice, Arsenal, Liverpool, Jude Bellingham, Premier League
Chris Byfield