West Ham United have agreed deals for Manchester United’s Harry Maguire and Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse worth about £60m in total.
Each deal is thought to be worth in the region of £30m.
Maguire, 30, struggled for first-team opportunities at Old Trafford last season and has been stripped of the captaincy this season.
He is understood to be keen on the move with personal terms yet to be agreed but not expected to be a problem.
Maguire joined United in August 2019 for a world record £80m for a defender.
West Ham have been trying to sign Ward-Prowse for much of the summer but Southampton, who were relegated to the Championship last season, had rejected their advances until this point.
However, it has appeared inevitable that Southampton would lose their captain and that now seems set to happen.
Ward-Prowse started Southampton’s Championship opener against Sheffield Wednesday on Friday but did not play in their Carabao Cup first-round defeat against Gillingham on Tuesday.
Rice’s departure leaves West Ham without an obvious captain and Moyes has opted not to name a replacement so far, but Maguire and Ward-Prowse provide two options.
Current first choice central defenders Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma have both had injury problems in recent months.
Premier League champions Manchester City are interested in Hammers midfielder Lucas Paqueta with an initial approach made but no bid yet.
