There was a time when certain clubs could count on certrain referees to render certain decisions in favour of this or that club. Thankfully, those days are long since past. In their stead, we have the likes of Thanos gathering this or that infinity stone. Whether that’s more fair or more just is left to someone sager than me. Having blathered thusly, on, let’s get to the roundup!
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You have to hand it to Chelsea. They’ve gazumphed Liverpool to not one but two signings even after those players agreed personal terms with Klopp’s cohort. Both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, highly coveted DM-types, were all but ready for an announcement at Anfield only to switch at the last to Stamford Bridge. For the Arsenal, we were lampooned and lambasted for signing Declan Rice on a fee said to rise to £115m. Meanwhile, Chelsea were lauded for signing Caicedo on the same fee, if not higher. Shrewd business, that. On Sunday, we got to see a study in contrasts. West Ham, seller of Declan Rice, bested Chelsea, buyer of Moises Caicedo.
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Look, I know that parting with a talismanic player is tough. We’ve done it at the Arsenal numerous times. To see a Fabregas, a van Persie, an Alexis turn his back on the club and leave for greener pastures does more than deprive the squad of a vital performer; it seems to consign the club itself to a kind of doom. It’s a signal that days will get darker and that the dawn will be delayed even further. Still, there’s usually a kind of pro forma response from the club that differs somewhat from the bitterness of the fans. Not so with this never-ending, interminably drawn-out Declan Rice saga.
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As the interminable negotiations with West Ham drag on, with each day bringing a new non-update regarding their position on our most-recent £105m offer, it starts to feel like talks will plod forward ever more slowly over time until forward motion will only be observable at the molecular level. How this helps West Ham is beyond my ability to fathom—they’ll need time to re-invest and integrate the players they manage to sign. In the meantime, we’ve signed Havertz and look likely to land Jurriën Timber. Who’ll be announced first?
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Amid news that West Ham have rejected Man City’s “embarrassing” bid for Declan Rice, the one that matched our own £90m but offered better add-ons and a pay structure more suitable to West Ham’s priorities, it looks more and more like we can get this deal done by going to £110m. Okay. That’s a lot of money. It’s less than West Ham had originally insisted back when they wanted to make it seem that the player wouldn’t be leaving.
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