Arsenal’s improved £90m bid for West Ham captain Declan Rice has been rejected. The fee, which would have been a club-record for Arsenal, was understood to be £75m guaranteed plus £15m in add-ons, surpassing the £72m paid to Lille for Nicolas Pepe in 2019.

It falls short of West Ham’s £120m valuation, though the east London club are open to sell for less if a player is included in the deal.