Declan Rice absolutely Most expensive midfielder as West Ham set £120,000,000 price tag

West Ham have reportedly set a £120 million price tag on Declan Rice amid an expected summer transfer fight between a number of Premier League heavyweights.

Arsenal are thought to be the current front runners in the race for his signature, but the Hammers captain has also courted interest from the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Despite his obvious talents, a number of figures in the game have preached caution over meeting West Ham’s valuation, including Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.

And so with West Ham seemingly demanding the eye watering figure to part ways with their star player, let’s take a look at some of the biggest transfers ever involving midfielders.

Enzo Fernandez – £107 million

The World Cup champion of Argentina joined Todd Boehly’s big-spending Chelsea from Benfica in the January 2023 transfer window, becoming the most expensive midfield acquisition in history.

Club officials had traveled to Lisbon in a frantic attempt to get the transaction across the line on deadline day, amind fears Benfica would chose to maintain their premium asset and so create a massive transfer fight with other European teams in the summer.

Despite the turbulence surrounding the west Londoners, Fernandez, who is also the most expensive player in Premier League history, has adjusted well during his first four months at Stamford Bridge.

Paul Pogba – £91 million

In 2016, Manchester United brought Pogba back to Old Trafford in a £91 million transfer with Juventus, the dominant team in Italy.

Before joining Juventus in 2012, the Frenchman was a young player in the United Academy. During his four years in Turin, he developed into one of the best midfielders in the world of football.

Pogba’s transfer was the most costly in game history at the time of the agreement, but he generally fell short of his high price tag and returned to the Old Lady as a free agent in 2022.

Aurelien Tchouameni – £85 million

In June 2022, Real Madrid made the announcement that it had acquired Tchouameni, beating out a plethora of Premier League interest.

The 23-year-old made a name for himself as one of the most dominant midfielders in the league during his two and a half years with Monaco, and he has since solidified that reputation at the Bernabeu despite competing with players like Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Fede Valverde for a starting position.

Liverpool is allegedly interested in signing Tchouameni this summer after he scored against England in the World Cup quarterfinal last year.

Zinedine Zidane – £69 million

The French legend, who is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, transferred from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2001 for a then-record sum.

Zizou went on to score 49 goals in 227 appearances for Los Blancos en route to winning the Champions League and La Liga. Zizou had already won the Euros and World Cup with France in the three years before to the agreement.

After retiring from playing in 2006, Zidane joined Real Madrid’s coaching staff. From 2016 to 2018, he led the team to three consecutive Champions League victories.

Frenkie de Jong – £65 million

The Dutchman left Ajax in 2019 to join Barcelona, turning down transfer offers from Manchester City and PSG.

De Jong has demonstrated excellent close ball control, faultless positioning, and a wide variety of passing, all traits that can be expected of a Barca midfielder.

The 25-year-old has been consistently linked with a move away from Camp Nou, though, as cash-strapped Barcelona is in desperate need of raising money and lowering their crushing pay bill. Manchester United are believed to be a long-time admirer of the player.