Arsenal’s path for Rice may be clear after surprising Granit Xhaka ‘hijack’ plan

Bayern Munich are said to be on the verge of hijacking Bayern Leverkusen’s move for Granit Xhaka. The approach suggests that the Bavarian giants may be considering their options in light of recent reports that top target Declan Rice prefers a move to the Emirates.

According to the Sun, Bayern are preparing a £15million bid for the player and snatch him away from Leverkusen’s clutches. Bayern are in the market for a central midfielder and had initially shortlisted Rice as one of their options.

But the Daily Mail report that the West Ham star wants to continue playing in England next season and prefers a move to Arsenal over Manchester United, who are also said to be interested in acquiring his services. 

The Hammers captain has his attention firmly set on the Europa Conference league final against Fiorentina next Wednesday after which official bids for the player are expected to be submitted. West Ham value their skipper at £100m, which if matched would equal the transfer record for a British player.

But manager David Moyes believes Rice will blow Manchester City’s £100m move for Jack Grealish out of the water and expects he will command a fee closer to the Premier League record of £107m spent by Chelsea on Enzo Fernandez.

“Undoubtedly Declan is going to be a top player,” he declared.”He’ll be a British transfer record if he ever leaves West Ham.”

He added: “There’s a lot of talk about it and when you see what’s going about for the prices, I think Dec will be blowing that out of the water, that’s for sure, when it comes around.”

Earlier this month, the Scot admitted there was a “good chance” of Rice would be leaving West Ham in the summer. “We honestly hope he stays,” Moyes said. “There are plans that we have Dec here but we’re also fully aware there is a good chance we won’t have him.”