West Ham United have made approaches for a number of midfielders as they look to replace the departing Declan Rice.

The Daily Mail report that West Ham United are discussing a potential £22m move for Bristol City midfielder Alex Scott, and they’ve also made approaches for a number of other midfielders.

The Hammers have reportedly made enquiries over the likes of Juventus’ Denis Zakaria, Leeds United’s Tyler Adams, Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, and Ajax’s Edson Alvarez.

The hands-on approach to recruitment in midfield suggests West Ham are very much expecting to sell Declan Rice to Arsenal, which is simultaneously creating a gap in their squad and providing them with significant funds to fill it.

There had been talk of West Ham making a move for Fulham’s Joao Palhinha earlier in the window, but the Mail then reported that the Premier League club are demanding £90m for the midfielder.

Sources at Fulham say they’re using Rice’s asking price as a benchmark for their own player, but there’s no suggestion anyone is willing to meet that figure.

It seems fairly likely that West Ham will see most of their targets boosted in price as a result of the major Rice sale.

The likes of Leeds and Southampton will hope to get a cut of that £105m Rice fee for themselves, so they won’t sell to West Ham for cheap.

Arsenal and West Ham are hoping to finalise a deal for the midfielder’s transfer by Monday.

The two clubs have already agreed to a £105m fee, and all that remains is the agreement on the payment structure.

Arteta is reportedly keen to get Rice fully integrated at Arsenal before the pre-season tour of the United States, with the Gunners playing their first game in the U.S. on July 20th.