Raya's agent reveals the FOUR clubs that rivalled Arsenal for his signature

Cameron Smith

Updated: 10 Nov 2023 11:53 GMT
3 min read

David Raya’s agent, Jaume Munell, has admitted that Arsenal faced competition from four of Europe’s elite teams before landing the Brentford star on loan this summer.

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Raya, 28, was courted by several clubs during the most recent transfer window as he sought a move away from the west London club.

Despite the presence of Aaron Ramsdale at Arsenal, the Spaniard chose to join the Gunners and he has already ousted Ramsdale as Mikel Arteta’s choice.

In fact, before Raya moved to the Emirates Stadium, FootballTransfers exclusively reported that he was being signed as Arsenal’s new number one goalkeeper, rather than as competition for Ramsdale.

That fact has been proven in recent weeks, with Raya starting the past seven Premier League matches and all four of Arsenal’s Champions League group stage games.

What has been said?

Munell, Raya’s agent, spoke to AFTV and admitted: “Arsenal showed interest for the first time three years ago in 2021. They tried to buy him but Brentford didn’t want to sell him at any price. After they bought Ramsdale that was an easier option but David has always been the priority.

© ProShots - David Raya and Aaron Ramsdale, Arsenal

“This summer, he had just one year left on his contract with Brentford and Arsenal was the club that showed the most concrete interest and [they] have always been our priority.

“Tottenham also was interested and made an official bid but it was refused because it was lower than the €40 million that Brentford wanted to sell him. Also, Bayern Munich were interested and had an amazing offer but with no buy option included and for this reason, we’ve not accepted it.

“Bayern Munich didn’t understand our refusal because they thought that Raya would have been the backup keeper at Arsenal but as you can see it’s not like this. Also Manchester United and Chelsea made an inquiry but nothing concrete.”