It has been rumoured that in order to find a replacement for Declan Rice, West Ham United would want to sign former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi this summer. There are rumblings that West Ham might be willing to part ways with its captain at the end of the current campaign, but the club is allegedly demanding £100 million in exchange for a move.
Rice has made it quite apparent that he wants to improve his career by playing for a side in the Champions League. Rice has garnered attention from many Premier League clubs, including Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool, all of which are now in the running to sign him.
According to The Athletic, former Arsenal midfielder Guendouzi is one of the candidates under consideration by West Ham to take over the role of England international. After completing a permanent transfer from Arsenal for a fee of £9 million the previous summer, the 24-year-old player is now in his second season at Marseille.
Matt Guendouzi’s contract with Marseille extends for two more years, and despite the fact that he and Mikel Arteta had a falling out while both were playing at Arsenal, Guendouzi has developed into an important element of the midfield for Marseille.
Matteo Guendouzi’s Current Season
Midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi has been a mainstay for Olympique Marseille this season, starting 29 of the club’s 30 Ligue 1 matches and logging 1,877 minutes of action. Over the course of their 33 matches, he has started 22 of them and come on as a substitute on seven others. On April 30th, Guendouzi last played for Olympique Marseille against Auxerre in a competitive match.
His side won 2-1 with his help, and he was credited with an assist. The midfielder has contributed to six goals and four assists in Ligue 1 this season. Three separate occasions he has been arrested. Guendouzi has not scored since March 31 when he and Montpellier played to a 1-1 tie. On September 18, he scored his first goal of the season in a 1-1 tie against Rennes.
Olympique Marseille, now in second place with 70 points, will travel to Lens on May 6 for their next league match. Guendouzi scored four goals and sent out six assists in 38 appearances for Olympique Marseille in Ligue 1 last year. After 57 league games and one assist for Arsenal, Guendouzi completed the transition to Olympique Marseille in June 2022.
At the age of 17 years and 184 days, Guendouzi made his Ligue 1 debut for Lorient on October 15, 2016, coming on as a substitute for the last 14 minutes of a match against Nantes. On August 8, 2021, he made his Ligue 1 debut for Olympique Marseille against Montpellier. Overall, in 75 Ligue 1 matches played, he has contributed to six goals and ten assists.
