Arsenal have reportedly identified Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia as an ideal signing should Aaron Ramsdale depart the club in the next couple of weeks.
Despite making a name for himself at the Emirates in his first two seasons at the club, Ramsdale was ruthlessly demoted to second fiddle behind Brentford loanee David Raya last season.
Mikel Arteta's controversial decision initially did not go down well with the Arsenal faithful, who witnessed Raya make a shaky start to his Arsenal career, but the Spaniard quickly established himself as one of the Premier League's leading goalkeepers.
Raya won the Golden Glove with 16 top-flight clean sheets last season, and following months of speculation, Arsenal triggered their option to sign the ex-Blackburn Rovers man on a permanent deal.
As a result, Ramsdale would seemingly be restricted to cup appearances should he stick around at the Emirates next term, and he recently admitted that he never wanted to go through another season like 2023-24 again.
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Ajax 'considering' new bid for Ramsdale
Talk of Chelsea or Bayern Munich making an approach for Ramsdale has quietened down, but the England international would still not be short of suitors if he does decide to push for a move away from North London.
Wolverhampton Wanderers has been mooted as a potential destination amid Arsenal's interest in David Bentley, while Dutch giants Ajax - who lost teenage shot-stopper Tommy Setford to Arsenal this summer - have apparently failed with a loan approach.
As the Dutch giants weigh up whether to come back with an improved proposal, the Daily Mail claims that Arsenal have earmarked Garcia as a potential successor to the former Sheffield United and Bournemouth man.
The 23-year-old is still under contract with Espanyol for another four years, having signed an extension in November, but Arsenal could very well make an offer to both the player and the club that they cannot refuse.
Garcia may not be the only new goalkeeper that Arsenal target if Ramsdale heads for the exit door, even though the Gunners have already signed Raya, Setford and Lucas Nygaard on permanent deals this summer.
Who is Arsenal-linked Joan Garcia?
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A product of the Espanyol youth academy, whom he joined in the summer of 2016, 23-year-old Garcia made his senior debut for the club at just 20 years old and made two La Liga appearances in the 2021-22 campaign.
The 6ft 3in goalkeeper continued in his backup role in Espanyol's doomed 2022-23 season, playing four times across the Copa del Rey and Spanish top flight as his side suffered relegation to the second tier.
However, Garcia played a key role in Espanyol bouncing back up to the big time at the first time of asking, establishing himself as first choice in the second half of the season and keeping eight clean sheets in 14 regular LaLiga2 matches.
Espanyol earned a place in the Segunda Division playoffs on account of their fourth-placed finish, and Garcia kept clean sheets in both legs of their semi-final win over Sporting Gijon before his side sealed their top-flight return with a 2-1 aggregate success over Real Oviedo.
The 23-year-old's exploits saw him called up to Spain's 2024 Olympics squad, and even though he did not play a minute at the tournament, he collected a gold medal as La Roja beat hosts France in the final.
Ben Knapton
