Striker Arsenal were quoted £60m for finally scores first goal in 20 games

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When Arsenal came calling for Raul de Tomas during the winter of 2022, Espanyol made it very clear that they had no plans to let their free-scoring ‘number nine’ go for a penny less than the £60 million release clause in his contract.

Two years on, current employers Rayo Vallecano would probably be tempted by the opportunity to cash in for just 10 per cent of that eye-watering fee, such has been the forward’s decline over the last 25 months.

To quote Spanish football expert Terry Gibson, the reputation of the one-time Arsenal target has ‘taken a battering’ since that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity passed him by, Espanyol president Jose Maria Duran confirming at the time that there was ‘no way’ Los Periquitos were going to negotiate with The Gunners in the middle of the season without De Tomas’ clause being triggered.

Arsenal were quoted £60 million for Raul de Tomas

De Tomas was certainly hot property back then. No wonder, after scoring 23 goals in 2020/21 and a further 17 in 2022/23. De Tomas – or ‘RDT’, to use the name which adorns the back of his shirt – was not only a great goalscorer at Espanyol but a scorer of great goals too, from thumping finishes to wicked free-kicks.

These days, however, anything will do.

The sight of De Tomas begging Rayo team-mate Isi Palazon to let him take a penalty during last weekend’s La Liga clash with Real Madrid was a telltale sign of a striker desperate for a break, and crying out for a goal.

Slotted past Los Blancos’ keeper Andriy Lunin, this was De Tomas’ first league strike since May 2023. His first in 20 attempts.

“It was interesting seeing Raul de Tomas taking the penalty,” Gibson reflects, speaking on El Tel and Jon’s La Liga Weekly podcast. “It was a risk (giving him the spot-kick).

“He hadn’t scored a goal this season. It’s not going well for him. His reputation has taken a battering.”

First goal in 20 La Liga games

Time will tell whether a penalty against Real Madrid – the club where the well-travelled frontman started his career – will prove to be a turning point in his season or merely a rather charitable false-dawn.

Either way, it’s hard to imagine that Arsenal – scouring the market for a centre-forward again ahead of the summer window – will be rushing to include De Tomas on a list of targets which includes Ivan Toney and Dusan Vlahovic to name but two.