Arsenal promise to rubber stamp rice transfer TOMORROW –

Sky Sports News are this evening reporting that Declan Rice’s paperwork will be given the full Stevie Wonder treatment tomorrow. There is believed to be an Arsenal promise whereby all transfer documents will be signed, sealed and delivered by Friday.

The word ‘promise’ is a bizarre turn of phrase to use in a transfer negotiation. Perhaps the Gunners are aware that West Ham had felt affronted by the transfer delay. Sky trotted out the recent excuse for the slow progress, citing Arsenal’s needed to check the documents. Judging by the timescale of 10 days, they probably had enough time to read the contents of Waterstones.

Anyway, it’s done now . . . . or at least it will be according to Sky, and I for one will be pleased to hear the end of it.

If normal protocol is now followed, the completed documents will be sent to the FA and Premier League. Upon receipt of the documents, Arsenal will send West Ham their first installment (£33m ish) which will then trigger the release of the players registration.

Assuming Rice has undergone and passed his medial, that’s it.

So, it’s completely plausible that the whole deal will be concluded by Friday evening.

As a result, West Ham can move ahead with their own transfer activity. Other clubs such as Brighton and Brentford have already started their recruitment process and we need to get a wriggle on.

Players need to be signed, assimilated, trained and readied for the start of the season. The new campaign is only a month away and we don’t want a repeat of last seasons excuses.