West Ham eye two midfield transfers to replace Declan Rice

West Ham will buy two midfielders to replace Declan Rice amid interest from Arsenal and Manchester City.

The Hammers are holding out for their £100million asking price, rejecting two Gunners offers that were below par with the club unhappy at the structure of payments that would’ve come over a long period of time as well as are being unimpressed with the amount of the fee coming via add-ons.

Rice is still expected to leave this summer and two players will come in the other way.

West Ham want two transfers to fill the void left behind by potentially Arsenal-bound Declan Rice.

David Moyes hopes the sale of the Conference League winning captain will give the club plenty of extra funds to use in the transfer market.

With Tomas Soucek’s form up and down last season, the club are open to replacing Rice and also giving the Czech star competition for his role.

West Ham were keen on Ajax’s Edson Alvarez but Borussia Dortmund look set to win the race for him.

The East Londoners are likely to turn their attenuation to Fulham’s Joao Palhinha, who excelled in his first Premier League season. They reportedly want in excess of £50m for Palhinha and owner Tony Khan confirmed that there is no release clause in the Portguese star’s contract.

Ibrahim Sangare of PSV and Man City’s Kalvin Phillips are also thought to be transfer potentials, especially the latter if he can be offered as part of the treble winners’ bid for Rice.

Also, Southampton skipper James Ward-Prowse is wanted by West Ham following their relegation. He is another who could cost over £50m. But due to the Saints playing Championship football, they could be forced to sell Ward-Prowse for lower should no biding war start.

Bristol City’s 19-year-old wonderkid Alex Scott is also on the Hammers’ radar after an impressive season. He is not the finished product yet but has creativity and tidiness on the ball which makes him an exciting prospect.

West Ham have had success bringing in players from the second tier before, see Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma, Aaron Cresswell and Michail Antonio as examples.

They are reportedly keen to use the Championship market again this transfer window amid reports the club could join the races for Coventry star Viktor Gyokeres. This could depend on the future of Gianluca Scamacca.