‘Worst case scenario’: David Ornstein says Arsenal could go for £80m player if they don’t get Rice

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Declan Rice to Arsenal is the transfer story of the summer, and, as with any great transfer story, there are twists and turns in this one.

Indeed, after Arsenal had two bids rejected for the England international, Manchester City are now in the race for Rice, and the midfielder could well be on his way to the Etihad instead of the Emirates.

If Rice does head to City, that is a blow for Arsenal, but luckily, they do have alternatives in mind.

According to David Ornstein, speaking on the Five YouTube channel, Arsenal’s recruitment staff will have other plans in mind, and one of those could be Moises Caicedo.

Caicedo Plan B

Ornstein shared what he knows about the £80m player.

“If Declan Rice doesn’t come off, which Arsenal may not be focusing on at this point because they’re focused so heavily on him, but if the worst case scenario happens they have a recruitment team who may look at Caicedo or others, we have seen Romeo Lavia linked quite heavily, I’m not sure of that one developing at this moment in time, but that could change in seconds or minutes,” Ornstein said.

Not a bad option

Arsenal fans will be beside themselves if they don’t get this deal for Declan Rice over the line, but, in all honesty, it may not be that big of a deal if they end up signing Caicedo instead.

There is an argument to make that Caicedo has a higher ceiling than Rice. After all, he’s been just as good as him in the Premier League this season and he’s much younger too.

Caicedo is not a bad plan B by any stretch of the imagination, and if Arsenal can sign the Ecuadorian alongside some of their other targets, this will still be a fantastic transfer window.