Man Utd set to miss out on De Gea replacement

Tom Hancock

• 11 Jun 2023 19:00 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United look likely to miss out to Tottenham in the race for Brentford goalkeeper David Raya.

Raya had been linked with a move to Man Utd as competition for namesake and Spanish compatriot David de Gea – but it appears as though the 27-year-old will be staying in London.

Brentford have already acted decisively in readiness for the seemingly imminent exit of one of their star men, agreeing a deal last month to sign Mark Flekken from Freiburg.

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And, according to Fabrizio Romano, Spurs are very close to agreeing personal terms with Raya – who is said to be interested in a switch to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

However, Romano adds that Brentford and Spurs do not see eye-to-eye on a transfer fee for the former Blackburn Rovers custodian, with the Bees reportedly demanding £40m.

Such a fee would make Raya – who has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of around £11m – the fourth-most expensive ‘keeper of all time, behind only Gianluigi Buffon, Alisson and another Spaniard, Kepa Arrizabalaga.

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Will De Gea be dropped?

While De Gea is expected to extend his contract with Man Utd, severe doubts remain over whether he can hold onto the number one spot for Erik ten Hag’s side going forward.

Despite winning the Golden Glove award for the most Premier League clean sheets in 2022/23, the 32-year-old – who will become United’s longest-serving player following the departure of Phil Jones – made numerous high-profile errors throughout the campaign.

Arguably the lowest point for De Gea came during the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals away to Sevilla in April, where he was at fault for all three goals as United lost 3-0 and crashed out of the competition.