Arsenal Urged To Shell Out 100M On “Natural Successor To Thomas Partey”

Arsenal Urged To Shell Out 100M On “Natural Successor To Thomas Partey”

Ex-Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell says he would prefer the Gunners to spend £100m on West Ham captain Declan Rice, if it was a straight choice between him and England teammate Jude Bellingham.

Neither player has been heavily linked with a switch to the Emirates but Campbell feels the addition of Rice would be something that the club should seriously consider:


“I truly believe this is the truth. I’d buy Rice. All day long. Bellingham is good and he is younger. But the game Rice has is perfect for what we have or what we are going to need. I am thinking he is a natural successor to Thomas Partey, who does things in a different way, but he can control a game himself, like Bellingham.”

Sporting director Edu has been on the lookout for an alternative to Partey. However, the club are setting their sights on cheaper targets than Rice.

Multiple bids were made for Douglas Luiz before the transfer deadline in September and, while a move for the Aston Villa player is now dead in the water, the club’s focus has seemingly switched to another Brazilian.

A number of reports have indicated a bid for Palmeiras’s Danilo is pretty likely. With an asking price of around €25m, he would also be available for a quarter of the amount that Rice is said to be valued at.

With Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City among the frontrunners for Rice, it doesn’t appear as if the Gunners will try to sign him if he is on the market next summer.