Manchester City Bids $101 Million For Declan Rice; Achraf Hakimi Also On Radar

Manchester City is coming off their second-ever treble season and has no plans of letting go of their iron grasp on England any time soon with them now reportedly making a bid for Declan Rice while also keeping their eyes on another star defender.

According to The Athletic, Manchester City made a formal approach to West Ham United for the English national team midfielder and has offered "£80 million ($101.82 million) with an extra £10 million ($12.73 million) in add-ons in hope of beating Arsenal to his signature this summer."

English Premier League runner-up Arsenal was initially believed to be the club that would be able to pry Rice from West Ham United after the Gunners was linked to him early in the transfer window.

Earlier this month, reports broke out that Arsenal was nearing on getting his signature, but transfer guru Fabrizio Romano cautioned fans from fully buying into the reports as it was still not guaranteed at the time.

In response to the news that Manchester City made an official bid for Rice, Romano revealed that "Arsenal will bid again after 2 proposals rejected in the recent weeks. They are not giving up at this stage. Both (Manchester) City and Arsenal had plans to bid for Rice this week," he tweeted.

For Manchester City to announce a formal bid for Rice was certainly a surprising outcome as the club had been rumored to be gunning for Josko Gvardiol from German Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, which would have cash-strapped them to the point that Rice would have been unavailable.

However, it looks as if the Citizens will keep their options open enough to potentially go for both Gvardiol and Rice–plus Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi.

Sources report that Manchester City is once again "ready to pay" to bring on another highly talented star to their roster "amid doubts over the future of long-serving full-backs Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo."

Hakimi has been a name to watch for many soccer fans on the lookout for the next great defenders of their generation as he helped Morocco to a semifinal appearance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup where they were ousted by eventual runner-up France to a score of 2-0.

Morocco had a chance to finish in third place at the global soccer tournament, but ran into Gvardiol's Croatia in the third-place play-off, losing that match 2-1.

A powerful and dynamic attacking wing-back, Hakimi's youth training as a winger, alongside his physically strong defense, has helped him carve out a role in his young career and there is high hope that he continues to reach the heights of success.

Manchester City adding Hakimi and Rice to their roster will only serve to bolster their hold on the soccer scene as they aim to add even more silverware to their trophy cabinet.