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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Victor

Declan Rice trains with Arsenal transfer targets and Bruno Fernandes as he waits for move

Arsenal target Declan Rice was spotted in a pre-season training session with two other men who have - at times - been linked with the Gunners.

Rice, who is on the verge of completing a club record move to North London, has been spending time training in Portugal. The West Ham captain was, unsurprisingly, not part of the Hammers squad for the pre-season opener against Boreham Wood.

Photographer Andre Silva shared photos from the session, which also featured Man Utd star Bruno Fernandes. However, it's the other two players pictured - Rafael Leao and Joao Cancelo - who might excite Gunners fans who spend a bit of time on transfer rumour pages.

The selection of photos was captioned "back on track" by Silva, while Rice shared a collage of his own from The Campus training complex in the Algarve. In one of Silva's photos, Portuguese trio Leao, Fernandes and Cancelo can be seen laughing together, while Rice is shown both on his own and in the group.

It is unclear why the quartet were training together, a number of clubs have been giving their players more time to return after international exertions in June. Rice started for England in their Euro 2024 qualifying wins against Malta and North Macedonia, while the others were all involved in Portugal's double-header with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland.

Arsenal have agreed terms with West Ham over a deal worth up to £105m including add-ons, and Rice will arrive as one of three big-money arrivals. Kai Havertz has already joined from Chelsea, while Jurrien Timber's move from Ajax is also set to be confirmed.

How will Arsenal fare next season? Have your say in the comments section

Arsenal have already begun their pre-season activities with a behind-closed-doors friendly against Watford. The game against the Hornets ended all-square, with Marquinhos on target in a 1-1 draw.

The squad has made its way to Germany ahead of their next pre-season friendly, away to Nurnberg. New signing Havertz has joined his new team-mates for training, and the £65m man could feature in the Thursday game. Following on from that match, Mikel Arteta's team are due to fly over to the United States for friendlies against Manchester United and Barcelona.

Leao and Fernandes are set to stay put next season. The Milan star has signed a new deal keeping him at the San Siro until 2028, despite links with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, while Fernandes is a candidate for the Man Utd permanent captaincy if Harry Maguire moves on.

Cancelo's future is far less secure. The right-back is due back at Manchester City after finishing last season on loan at Bayern Munich, but a permanent Bayern switch and an Arsenal move were both mooted earlier in the summer.

Those Arsenal links have died down since the Gunners stepped up their pursuit of Timber. The Dutch international, who can play at right-back or centre-back, is due to arrive in a deal worth £40m including add-ons.

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