Transfer Centre

Manchester United 'unwilling to meet Brentford's asking price for David Raya'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 08 June 2023

Man United 'unwilling to meet David Raya asking price'

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly both unwilling to meet Brentford's asking price of £40m for Spanish goalkeeper David Raya.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly baulked at Brentford's £40m asking price for number one goalkeeper David Raya.

The Spaniard is expected to be on the move this summer following another strong campaign under Thomas Frank, keeping 12 clean sheets in 38 Premier League games.

Since leaving Blackburn Rovers to join the ranks at Brentford, Raya has played a key role in the Bees' progression from a Championship side to a top-half Premier League team, registering a total of 54 clean sheets in 161 appearances.

However, the 27-year-old is only under contract with the capital club until the end of next season and has already hinted that he would be open to a departure in order to fulfil his European ambitions.

Raya has already rejected two renewal offers from Brentford, whose head coach Frank has declared that it would take a £40m fee for the Bees to consider parting ways with their number one.

Brentford goalkeeper David Raya pictured on December 30, 2022 © Reuters

While Man United and Tottenham are both in need of new shot-stoppers, Sky Sports News claims that both sides are hesitant to bow to Brentford's financial demands over the Spaniard.

Both sides are said to have taken a liking to Raya, but they feel that the Bees' asking price is excessive given that the shot-stopper will soon enter the final 12 months of his contract.

As a result, neither side has touched base with Brentford to discuss a possible transfer, and the Bees would be willing to let Raya leave on a free transfer at the end of the 2023-24 season.

Brentford added to their goalkeeping ranks last week with the signing of Mark Flekken from Freiburg, which would seemingly accelerate Raya's exit from the club.

However, Frank is supposedly happy to have all of Raya, Flekken and Thomas Strakosha at his disposal next season, although the former's agent has warned Brentford that they could very well lose the goalkeeper for nothing if their asking price is not slashed.

Brentford's David Raya celebrates after Mathias Jorgensen scored their first goal on October 24, 2021 © Reuters

Raya's countryman and Man United number one David de Gea collected the Premier League's Golden Glove with 17 clean sheets last term, but the 32-year-old was the subject of criticism for several high-profile errors.

De Gea is yet to agree to a new contract beyond the summer, but there is now optimism from all sides that the former Atletico Madrid product will commit to fresh terms on a reduced salary from his current £375,000-a-week deal.

Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag has refused to guarantee De Gea the number one role for next season, though, while Nottingham Forest are understood to be discussing a permanent move for Dean Henderson, and ex-Crystal Palace loanee Jack Butland recently departed for Rangers.

Over at Tottenham, Hugo Lloris is in a similar boat, as the 36-year-old came under fire for a string of mistakes this term - making a league-high four errors directly leading to a goal in the 2022-23 English top flight.

The Frenchman still has a year remaining on his contract, but he has confirmed his desire to leave Tottenham this summer amid reports of a triple-your-money offer from a Saudi Arabian club.