Arsenal are battling Chelsea for West Ham captain Declan Rice ahead of the summer market.

The Blues have had a longstanding admiration for Rice and Sky Deutschland's journalist Florian Plettenberg took to Twitter to seemingly confirm their concrete interest.

He said: “Chelsea is definitely in the race and highly interested - confirmed! He's one of the top candidates in order to strengthen the defensive midfield."

Graham Potter's side already splashed out a whopping £107million on Enzo Fernandez in January to sure up their midfield.

Rice is expected to leave The Hammers in the summer with his current contract due to expire in 2024.

Arsenal have been heavily linked with attracting the England star to the Emirates Stadium despite their public interest in Brighton's Moises Caicedo.

The league leaders are looking to improve on their squad depth as they gear up for a likely return to the Champions League for the first time in six years.