Tottenham Hotspur looked at signing reported Arsenal target David Raya before deciding on Pierluigi Gollini, according to The Athletic.
What’s the story?
The Athletic are reporting that Tottenham’s new managing director of football, Fabio Paratici, explored the possibility of signing Raya from Brentford in the summer transfer window.
However, the 25-year-old Brentford goalkeeper was ‘prohibitively expensive’.
So, Paratici decided to make a move for Gollini.
The former Aston Villa goalkeeper has joined Tottenham on loan from Atalanta in the summer transfer window.
Interestingly, Raya has also been linked with Arsenal.
The Sun reported in May that Arsenal gave up on signing Raya after Brentford won promotion from the Championship.
The Spaniard had a £10 million release clause in his contract that was valid only if the Bees had not won promotion to the Premier League.
The Daily Mail reported in September 2020 that Raya was so keen on a move to Arsenal last summer that he was ready to hand in a transfer request.
Good decision from Tottenham?
Gollini is a loan signing, so the risk is certainly less.
If the Italy international is unable to impress, then Tottenham would just send him back to Atalanta.
Hugo Lloris will start the next season as the number one goalkeeper, and Gollini will be expected to push him.
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