It has taken longer than most fans would have liked, but midfielder Declan Rice has finally completed his transfer to Arsenal with confirmation that the £100 million ($130m) deal, which could increase by up to £5m in add-ons, has now officially been done.
The midfielder had been on the books at West Ham United since the age of 14, when he first joined their youth academy. He broke into the first team at the age of 17 and ended up as captain of the side, winning both the club’s Young Player and Player of the Year award three times each, while making 245 total appearances. The last of those was in the Hammers’ victorious Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina, ending the club’s long wait for a trophy.
Now 24 and established as one of English football’s best midfielders, Rice moved across London to sign for Arsenal, becoming the second-most expensive signing by a British club (behind Chelsea‘s Enzo Fernandez at £106.8m) in the process. He also becomes the seventh-most expensive signing in football history, joining some notable names at the top of the list.
Indeed, before add-ons are taken into account, Rice is now one of the two most expensive central midfielders ever, which earns him a place in the all-time XI when assembled on a position-by-position basis.
The XI has a combined transfer value of £1.139 billion and is presented in a 4-2-3-1 formation consisting of a goalkeeper, a traditional back four, two central midfielders, two wide forwards and an attacking midfielder playing behind an out-and-out centre-forward.
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