Declan Rice could be under contract at Arsenal for longer than initially expected, according to a new update from David Ornstein.
Arsenal confirmed the signing of Declan Rice from West Ham United on Saturday, with West Ham saying their farewells in the morning before the Gunners announced the addition in the afternoon.
For the most part, there haven’t been too many surprises with the deal. All the reliable reports continue to confirm it’s a £105m deal, which includes £5m of add-ons.
But David Ornstein of The Athletic broke the news on Saturday afternoon that Rice has signed a five-year deal with an option to extend for a sixth.
Assuming all goes well and the Gunners eventually want to activate that option, Rice could be under contract at the club until 2029.
Turning 24 earlier this year, this contract would take Rice all the way into his thirties.
Arsenal rarely hand out contracts for more than five years, even when you consider the options to extend, but you can understand why they’ve made an exception in this case.
After spending such a big fee to bring Rice to the club, they clearly want to ensure they get his best years of football in north London.
The 24-year-old made 50 appearances for West Ham and 11 appearances for England over the last 12 months, and he’ll hope to be just as busy in an Arsenal shirt over the coming years.
With the Europa Conference League final taking place between the end of the club season and the international break, Rice didn’t have any time off until mid-June, and he had an extended holiday as a result.
But Ornstein confirms that Rice will now travel with Arsenal to the USA on tour this weekend.
Arsenal’s Pre-Season Fixtures and Results
- Saturday, July 8th – Arsenal 1-1 Watford (Behind closed doors)
- Thursday, July 13th – FC Nurnberg 1-1 Arsenal
- Thursday, July 20th, 01:30 – MLS All-Stars vs Arsenal
- Saturday, July 22nd, 22:00 – Arsenal vs Manchester United
- Thursday, July 27th, 03:30 – Arsenal vs Barcelona
- Wednesday, August 2nd, 18:00 – Arsenal vs Monaco
- Sunday, August 6th, 16:00 – Arsenal vs Manchester City
Times in BST