Summary
Arsenal target David Raya 'wants' to move to the Emirates Stadium this summer as his future at Brentford becomes increasingly unclear, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.
Will Arsenal be signing David Raya this window?
According to The Daily Mail, Arsenal have offered £20 million plus an extra £3 million in add-ons to try and sign Raya this window; however, this bid is expected to be rebuffed by Brentford.
Brentford boss Thomas Frank has been vocal about his desire to receive a fee of £40 million for Raya, though Arsenal are believed to only want to bid around £30 million at a maximum for the Spain international.
Renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano issued an update on the state of play with regard to Raya's potential move to the Gunners on Twitter X, stating: "Understand David Raya has reached an agreement in principle with Arsenal on personal terms. Brentford have been informed by player side that he wants to join Arsenal — and talks between clubs over formula/price are now expected to accelerate.
Last campaign, Raya made 39 appearances in all competitions for Brentford and managed to keep 12 clean sheets in the process, as per Transfermarkt.
Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur have also shown interest in Raya over the course of the window; nevertheless, they were put off by Brentford's asking price, as per The Evening Standard.
Raya won't sign a new contract at Brentford and is said to be on positive terms with Arsenal goalkeeping coach Inaki Cana, who he has previously worked alongside at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jacobs thinks that if Raya was to join Arsenal, it would be 'unclear' who Mikel Arteta would fancy as his number one goalkeeper between the 27-year-old and Aaron Ramsdale.
Jacobs stated: "Well, they know that Raya wants the move. Bayern Munich, we're looking more at a loan for Raya and Brentford were not prepared to entertain that unless David Raya first signed a new deal because then his value would have been protected and obviously, had he not done so, then it wouldn't have been a preferable deal from Brentford's perspective. The Bayern talks collapsed and now Arsenal have come, in a bit of a surprise, perhaps because Ramsdale signed a new deal and was thought to be the number one and if Raya comes in, it becomes unclear really."
Who else could Arsenal look to sign this window?
Arsenal are keen on Southampton youngster Romeo Lavia this summer; however, the Belgium international has also attracted attention from the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United this window, as per The Independent.
FootballTransfers report that both Arsenal and Chelsea are in combat to try and secure the signature of Ajax midfielder Mohammed Kudus and could utilise money gained from player sales to initiate a swoop for the Ghana international.
Kudus is believed to value the opportunity of being able to participate in Champions League competition this term and would favour joining Arsenal as opposed to Chelsea.
Tuttomercatoweb via Sport Witness claim that Arsenal have submitted an offer for Dinamo Zagreb defender Josip Sutalo that exceeds the €20 million mark.