West Ham leave Declan Rice out of new kit launch ahead of £105m Arsenal move

West Ham have unveiled their new home shirt for the 2023-24 season – and there’s no sign of Declan Rice as he edges closer towards a £105million move to Arsenal. 

Arsenal have reached a full agreement with the Hammers to sign Rice, who was set to undergo his medical in north London last week after finalising personal terms.

Official confirmation of his switch to the Emirates is expected in the coming days, with Mikel Arteta closing in on his second major signing of the summer.

The move means Rice will be bidding an emotional farewell to West Ham, where he has spent the entirety of his career to date after emerging from their academy in 2017.

And as a result, the England midfielder was nowhere to be seen as they unveiled their new home kit on Monday.

But there was no sign of Declan Rice as he closes in on a £105m move to Arsenal this summer

The likes of Jarrod Bowen greeted Hammers fans in an East End pub as part of their kit launch

Jarrod Bowen, Maxwel Cornet, Thilo Kehrer and goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, along with women stars Hawa Cissoko and Risa Shimizu, were instead seen donning the new West Ham shirt in a promotional video which sees the six players greet fans in an East End pub.

They even join them in a rendition of the club’s famous I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles chant, while Cornet can be seen dancing with one supporter. 

The new strip, put together by kit manufacturers Umbro, features West Ham’s traditional claret body with blue sleeves, as well as a bubble pattern woven through the design. 

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But Rice’s absence was the biggest takeaway from the promotion as West Ham fans await confirmation that their star man is moving to north London. 

The 24-year-old first signed for West Ham at the age of 14 after being released by Chelsea and has gone on to make 245 appearances, scoring 15 goals and captaining them to Europa Conference League glory in what will now prove his final season.

He is set to join an Arsenal side who narrowly missed out on the Premier League title last term, having led Manchester City for the majority of the race at the top before a late collapse.

Rice captained West Ham to Europa Conference League glory in his final season at the club

He is now set to follow Kai Havertz, who left Chelsea to join Arsenal last month, to the Emirates this summer

Rice is not the only new recruit arriving at the Emirates this summer, nevertheless, after Kai Havertz completed a £65m move from Chelsea last month.

Havertz, who spent three years at Stamford Bridge and scored the winning goal in their 2021 Champions League final win, has put pen to paper on a five-year contract with the Gunners.

Ajax defender Jurrien Timber is also expected to seal a £40m switch to Arsenal this summer, while Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby has been linked with Mikel Arteta’s side of late. 

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