Arsenal have agreed a deal worth close to £30m for the Brentford goalkeeper David Raya, who is expected to complete a move to the Emirates Stadium in time for the new Premier League season.
Raya’s arrival will mean Arsenal secure a long-term target. They made multiple bids for the Spain international in the summer of 2020 but could not reach an agreement with Brentford, who were battling to secure promotion from the Championship at the time.
Three years on Mikel Arteta has got his man and Brentford have achieved a significant return on a player who cost them £2.7m when he signed from Blackburn in 2019.
Earlier in the summer Raya, who made it clear he would not extend his contract beyond next year, had been targeted by Tottenham but they were unwilling to meet Brentford’s demands. Manchester United and Chelsea had also monitored his situation but, with Brentford having signed Mark Flekken from Freiburg as his replacement, he risked starting 2023-24 out in the cold.
Raya will take the squad place vacated by Matt Turner, who will leave Arsenal for Nottingham Forest in a deal worth an eventual £10m, although he is unlikely to embrace the No 2 status his predecessor had been required to accept.
The arrival of such expensive competition, which pushes Arsenal’s spending this summer towards £240m, will inevitably cast doubt over Aaron Ramsdale’s future. The Arsenal goalkeeping coach, Iñaki Caña, worked closely with Raya during his own time at Brentford. Arteta may feel that two high‑quality goalkeepers, both of whom are feted for their distribution, will be required for dual tilts at the Premier League and Champions League.
Arsenal aim to sell more squad players during pre-season to offset some of their spending and have rejected an offer from Monaco for the striker Folarin Balogun, who they are thought to value at around £50m. Internazionale are among others interested in Balogun.
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Brentford, meanwhile, have submitted a bid of around £25m to sign Fiorentina’s Nico González.