ARSENAL have ended their interest in signing Moises Caicedo amid their pursuit of Declan Rice, reports say.
The Gunners tried to prise the midfielder over to North London from Brighton in the winter window.
But now Arsenal look set to shift their focus to West Ham captain Rice, with whom they have now launched a bid for.
According to The Times, the Gunners have withdrawn from the race to sign Caicedo, 21, who is now odds on to join Chelsea instead.
The Blues were also amongst those interested in the Ecuadorian last season and now they are on the verge of losing N’Golo Kante.
French World Cup winner Kante is on the verge of completing a shock move to Al-Ittihad, who have also signed Karim Benzema from Real Madrid.
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So incoming Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino will look to add a new midfielder to partner club-record signing Enzo Fernandez.
Meanwhile Arsenal’s decision to drop their interest in Caicedo to favour talks with Rice could prove risky.
The club are already believed to have had an offer of £90million plus add ons rejected by the Hammers, who rate Rice at £110m.
But now Manchester City have entered the race, with the Premier League champions considering a move for the England international.
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The Guardian has reported City are set to “blow Arsenal out of the water” when they submit their offer for Rice, 24.
West Ham owner David Sullivan said after the club’s Europa Conference League final victory last week that Rice was free to leave the club.
The player has a year left on his current deal in East London, with an option to extend that to 2025.
But Rice has rejected several offers to extend it over the past 18 months, including a package of £200k-a-week.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
