Arsenal leads on West Ham’s Declan Rice, but Bayern Munich expected to present bid soon

Update — 7:25AM EDT: Bayern expected to make offer soon

Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg checked in with an update on Bayern Munich’s pursuit of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice:

Update #Rice: Still no offer from Bayern yet but Bayern bosses are still ready to prepare and present it in the next 1-2 weeks as he’s still a top transfer target. Not has changed.

In the last days there was no development in the talks/negotiations with Rice and his management. @SkySportDE

Bayern Munich’s transfer blitz on West Ham defensive midfielder Declan Rice is in full force as the Rekordmeister is desperately trying to fend off stiff competition from Arsenal FC and Manchester United in hopes of bringing the 24-year-old to Germany.

It is virtually unheard of for a German team to lure an English star in his prime to the Bundesliga, but the Bavarians are doing just about everything they can to make it happen.

Even with all of that effort, it might not matter.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Bayern Munich is trailing Arsenal in the hunt for Rice, who won the Europa Conference League title with his West Ham teammates on Wednesday:

Bayern Munich surely will not give up hope, but the club has to be feeling like the odds are starting to become stacked against it. Even with manager Thomas Tuchel dangling a key role in the squad and the chance to win multiple trophies, it could prove to be extremely difficult to lure the midfielder to Germany.

Now, one question remains: Is Declan Rice THE guy? Can he fit into the club’s midfield as seamlessly as people think? And does he even want to come here? Well, that’s outside the scope of this report, but we do cover all that and more in our podcast. If you want more info, then listen to it below or on Spotify.