Rice preparations for Arsenal move involving sessions with Maya Jama's trainer

14 July 2023 , 06:40

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Rice preparations for Arsenal move involving sessions with Maya Jama's trainer

Declan Rice's imminent move to Arsenal is one of football's worst-kept secrets but the midfielder has had to do something to keep himself ticking over as we still await official confirmation.

So, to ensure he arrives at the Emirates in the best possible shape, Rice has been undergoing fitness sessions out in Portugal under the guidance of personal trainer Woz Whitely, who also boasts Love Island presenter Maya Jama as a previous client.

Arsenal reached an agreement with West Ham that an offer of £100million plus £5m in add-ons would be enough to entice the England international away from east London. Some Gunners fans are sweating over the lack of announcement so far, given Rice was expected to be unveiled in time for him to travel to the USA as part of Arsenal's pre-season tour.

Mikel Arteta's men jet out to the other side of the pond on Sunday, which means Rice has to be announced very soon or he risks missing out on a large part of Arsenal's pre-season campaign.

Rice has kept fans up to date with his own activities, taking to Instagram to upload snaps of him being put through his paces after a few weeks on Holiday.

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"Back at it", he captioned the series of pictures of himself working out at a sports complex called The Campus in the Algarve. The images show that Rice had been working on a number of areas, with snaps of him jogging followed by ones of the 24-year-old lifting weights.

Declan Rice has been participating in personal pre-season fitness sessions (@declanrice/Instagram)

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Rice is familiar with The Campus, as he spent time there with his West Ham colleagues before their triumphant Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina last month.

The soon to be Arsenal midfielder was not alone out in Algarve, with a whole host of high-profile footballers also using The Campus as a base to keep themselves in prime condition before they return to their respective clubs.

Portuguese duo Bruno Fernandes and Rafael Leao were also present for some of the sessions, while Rice uploaded a picture of him and James Maddison together in training to Instagram.

It is unclear how well that went down with Arsenal fans, but some may have taken issue with their soon-to-be new record signing proudly posing alongside one of Tottenham's newest signings.

If Rice is announced as an Arsenal player in time to travel, he could get his first run-out in the iconic red and white shirt against any one of the MLS All-Stars in Washington, Manchester United in New Jersey and Barcelona in Los Angeles.

Josh O'Brien