Arsenal are on the verge of signing Brentford goalkeeper David Raya in a deal which may leave Tottenham Hotspur kicking themselves.
David Raya seems to be poised for a move to Arsenal just weeks after Tottenham Hotspur scrapped a plan to sign him.
All the talk is about Harry Kane and Moises Caicedo right now but Arsenal are set to make another addition too.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Brentford stopper Raya completed the main part of his medical with Arsenal this morning.
The Spaniard should be confirmed as an Arsenal player very soon with the Gunners adding goalkeeping competition.
Matt Turner has joined Nottingham Forest this week, paving the way for Raya to come in as competition for Aaron Ramsdale.
Arsenal are seemingly set for a transfer announcement and Tottenham Hotspur may just be feeling they missed a trick…
David Raya set for Arsenal loan after Tottenham walked away
Raya looked to be moving towards a switch to North London earlier this summer, but to Tottenham rather than Arsenal.
The Times reported in June that Tottenham had agreed personal terms with Raya ahead of a move.
However, Brentford wouldn’t budge on their £40million demands for Raya and Tottenham just weren’t willing to pay that.
Tottenham instead moved away and signed Italian stopper Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli instead, forking out £17.2million.
That was much cheaper than the proposed deal for Raya, so Spurs were happy to bring the Italian to North London.
Yet it’s now emerging that Tottenham may well have been able to land Raya in a creative deal.
The Athletic claim that Raya will be joining Arsenal on loan for £3million, with a £27million option to buy next summer.
That’s a very crafty deal from Arsenal and one that Tottenham may wish they had come up with earlier in the window.
Vicario was superb in Serie A last season and may well turn out to be a quality goalkeeper for Tottenham in the coming years.
Raya is also proven in the Premier League though and would have ticked a homegrown box for Tottenham, which is an added bonus with Raya.
Add in Raya’s outstanding distribution and it just feels like the Spaniard would have been ideal for Ange Postecoglou.
A loan with option to buy at those numbers would have been perfect for Tottenham and seeing him head to Arsenal as a second-choice – at least to begin with – is hard to swallow.
This situation isn’t Vicario’s fault and Tottenham fans will certainly still be behind the Italian, but it’s hard not to think that Spurs have missed out on a great deal here.
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