Is Arsenal Overpaying For Declan Rice?
Arsenal finally announced the signing of Declan Rice Saturday after a long drawn-out transfer saga. The Gunners won the race for Rice’s signature after outlasting Manchester City’s attempt to lure the defensive midfielder to Manchester next year.
However, to bring Rice to the club, Arsenal had to break the bank. The Gunners dished out a club-record £100 million ($131 million) plus £5 million ($6.5 million) transfer fee in order to bring him to the club from West Ham. This fee also ties Rice as the most expensive English player in history with Jack Grealish, and if the add-ons do come into play, will move Rice into the top spot.
So, the question is, did Arsenal overpay for Declan Rice?
Undeniable Ability
Declan Rice’s talent is undeniable. He is an elite defender who also has an impressive passing ability. Having this combination is exactly what you want in a defensive midfielder. You want someone who can sit in front of the backline, providing support to the defenders when needed and also starting attacks from the defensive third.
Rice has all of this and more. He wins tackles when needed and can stop opposing attacks by how he approaches oncoming attackers. On the ball, he can dribble out of the back when possible, and as I already mentioned, has an elite passing ability. He has also shown a budding ability to score goals, netting five goals in successive Premier League seasons.
Plus, at Arsenal, Arteta is sure to enhance Rice’s offensive capabilities to complement his already world-class defensive abilities, giving him the potential to be one of the best midfielders in the world.
Rice also has an incredible amount of experience for a player who is only 24. He has already made over 200 Premier League appearances, has played in big tournaments for both West Ham and England and was West Ham’s captain. This experience and leadership ability at such a young age is hard to find, adding to Rice’s value.
He is an elite player, someone who is worthy of a lofty transfer fee.
High Fee
However, $131 million is steep, and Arsenal is overpaying. Rice was entering the final year of his contract, meaning he would have been able to leave West Ham on a free transfer next year. In situations like this, the club usually is willing to let the player leave for cheaper to avoid losing them for free in a year.
However, West Ham was able to milk Arsenal dry with this transfer. In the Gunners’ defense, Manchester City was pushing to sign Rice, and when City enters a transfer race, it means trouble for the other teams. It is possible that City only showed interest in Rice to get Arsenal to overpay for him and that Arsenal fell right into the trap. However, Mikel Arteta was desperate to sign his number one transfer target, and it showed in what Arsenal was willing to pay.
The English tax was also at play with this move. The English tax basically implies that English players are more expensive to sign than other players. If you do not believe me, look no further than the transfer of Manuel Ugarte to PSG.
PSG signed Ugarte from Sporting CP this summer for a fee of $65 million. Ugarte is also a defensive midfielder, and in my opinion, is arguably better than Rice. First of all, Ugarte is likely a better defender than Rice. Last season, he made more tackles and interceptions than any other player in the world’s top seven leagues who played over 900 minutes.
While you might try and argue that he was doing this in the Portuguese league while Rice was playing in the Premier League, the Portuguese league has a lot of attacking flair that Ugarte was dealing with on a weekly basis. Plus, he was performing the same way in the Champions League group stages, dominating the midfield for Sporting.
Ugarte also has an accomplished on-the-ball ability as well. He is able to dribble out of the back and pick out the right ball to start attacks. At 22, he is two years younger than Rice and likely has more room to grow.
When you look at the two side by side, Rice and Ugarte are two of the most promising midfielders in the world who are already playing at an elite level. However, Arsenal paid more than double what PSG paid to get their defensive midfielder.
Arsenal is definitely overpaying for Declan Rice.
Still A Great Signing
Despite overpaying for Rice, he is still a great signing for the Gunners. He will undoubtedly sure up things defensively for Arsenal while also providing support in the midfield and attack.
Arteta wanted him for a reason. The reality is, if Arsenal goes on to have success in either the Premier League or the Champions League and Rice plays a pivotal role, we will not be saying that they overpaid.
It is going to be interesting to see how he plays for Arteta’s side next season. He is going to have a lot of pressure on him with this lofty transfer fee.
We are going to see whether Rice is truly worth $131 million, or if Manchester City baited Arsenal into overpaying for his services.
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