As per Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal have agreed a deal to sign goalkeeper David Raya from Brentford.
It is understood that the deal will be worth a total package of close to £30m- consequently providing The Bees with a significant profit on the £2.7m they purchased him for from Blackburn Rovers in 2019.
Furthermore, having already agreed personal terms last week, the Spain international is now set to sign a contract until 2028 with the North London side, and a medical is scheduled to take place later this week.
The 27-year-old has previously attracted interest from the likes of Bayern Munich, Manchester United, and Tottenham, however- despite even agreeing personal terms with the latter- negotiations with each side fell through, who instead opted to pursue other targets; with Brentford’s initial £40m asking price being deemed too high.
However, having already signed Dutch international Mark Flekken from Freiburg for €13m as a replacement, Thomas Frank’s side have seemingly reneged on this asking price and accepted a fee £10m smaller. As a result, the 6’0″ shot-stopper is now set to complete a move to the Emirates stadium- where he will compete with the incumbent No.1 Aaron Ramsdale for a consistent starting place in Mikel Arteta’s side.
Raya will be Arsenal’s fourth signing this summer and their third from a London Rival, with Kai Havertz having joined from Chelsea for £65m, whilst Declan Rice signed for a club-record fee of £105m from West Ham.
Both of these signings, alongside other new arrival Jurrien Timber, already made their competitive debut for their new side last Sunday, as The Gunners defeated treble winners Manchester City on penalties to win the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium.
As for the Premier League, Arsenal will kick off their campaign this Saturday against Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest- as they look to better last year’s second place finish whilst competing in Champions League football for the first time since 2017.
Travis Levison | Get Football
