Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain
By Chris King • Updated: 30 Jul 2023 • 16:45 • 2 minutes read
Image of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. Credit: amirraizat/Shutterstock.com
MIKEL ARTETA is thought to be interested in bringing Brentford’s Spanish international goalkeeper David Raya to the Emirates Stadium.
According to the respected sports reporter David Ornstein at The Athletic, although no official move has been initiated, The Bees are aware of Arsenal’s interest in their 27-year-old player.
Should such a switch to a rival Premier League outfit materialise then Raya would be linking up again with Arsenal goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana, who he worked under at the Gtech Community Stadium in West London.
Whether Raya would want to play second fiddle to England star Aaron Ramsdale is another matter up for discussion.
Bayern Munich are also known to be on his trail with a view to taking him to Germany. However, the Bundesliga champions are said to favour a loan move as opposed to purchasing Raya.
According to Ornstein, with his contract due to expire next Summer, a loan would only be considered by Brentford should the Spanish stopper first agree to extend his contract with the club.
That would seem highly unlikely after Raya reportedly already turned down two new contract offers. The fact that his deal runs out next year could force Brentford to accept a reasonable offer instead of risking losing him on a free transfer.
Earlier this Summer, both Tottenham and Manchester United were known to have held talks with The Bees about a possible move. According to 90min.com, Spurs were not happy to meet the £40m asking price.
Hugo Lloris publicly announced his desire to leave Spurs earlier this year having already retired from the French national team in January.
After 447 appearances for the club since arriving in 2012 from Ligue 1 giants Lyon, their 36-year-old Tottenham captain still has another year to run on his present contract.
He was left out of the club’s pre-season tour of Australia and Asia while he considers a move away from London. Ange Postecoglou wasted no time in securing the services of Italian keeper Guglielmo Vicario as a long-term replacement.
Manchester United brought in Andre Onana from Inter Milan earlier this month. David de Gea’s contract expired at the end of June and he announced his shock departure out of the blue, on social media.
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Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com
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