Transfer Centre

Arsenal 'open talks with David Raya over personal terms'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 31 July 2023

Arsenal reportedly open talks over personal terms with Brentford goalkeeper David Raya, but Bees boss Thomas Frank wants a £40m fee to sell his number one.

Arsenal have reportedly begun discussions with the entourage of Brentford goalkeeper David Raya over personal terms.

Despite tying Aaron Ramsdale down to a new contract earlier this year and signing Matt Turner as a backup option in 2022, Arsenal are believed to be exploring a move for Raya.

The Spain international has previously been linked with a switch to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, but the two Premier League sides instead moved for Andre Onana and Guglielmo Vicario respectively.

Bayern Munich - whose current number one Manuel Neuer is nursing a broken leg - are now reported to be one of the main contenders for Raya, as the German champions could also lose Yann Sommer to Inter Milan.

However, talks with the German champions have supposedly stalled after Brentford rejected a loan offer for their number one, giving Arsenal hope of a successful hijack.

Brentford's David Raya on May 20, 2023 © Reuters

According to Fabrizio Romano, the Gunners have now touched base with the 27-year-old's agents to discuss his potential wage packet at the Emirates, and personal terms are not expected to be an issue.

Raya is understood to prefer a move to Arsenal over Bayern, and the former Blackburn Rovers has a little under 12 months left to run on his current deal at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Nevertheless, Brentford boss Thomas Frank has publicly stated that his side are looking for a £40m fee to let Raya depart, and it is unclear if Arsenal have any intention of bowing to those demands.

Mikel Arteta's side have already spent over £200m on the captures of Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, while raising approximately £27m through the sales of Granit Xhaka and Pablo Mari.

More fringe players are expected to be cut from the Gunners' ranks in the coming weeks, though, as Arteta has admitted that his 30-strong squad is "unsustainable", and Turner could apparently be one of several names to move on.

Matt Turner in action for Arsenal in October 2022 © Reuters

The USA international failed to make a single Premier League appearance last term, but he is thought to be on the radar of Nottingham Forest should the Tricky Trees fail in their efforts to sign Manchester United's Dean Henderson permanently.

The exits of Turner and Alex Runarsson would open up a place in the Arsenal ranks for Raya, who would provide serious competition to Ramsdale for the number one jersey.

The Spaniard spent seven years on the books at Blackburn between 2012 and 2019 before joining Brentford in a €3.4m (£2.9m) deal, and he won promotion to the Premier League in his second season at the club.

Raya has kept 54 clean sheets in 161 matches for Brentford across all competitions, including 12 shut-outs from 38 Premier League fixtures last term, as well as impressing with his footwork and ability to play out from the back.

A two-cap Spain international, Raya was called up to the Roja squad for the 2022 World Cup, but the Brentford number one was an unused substitute throughout the tournament.