- Ball in Arsenal's court
- Brentford ready to sell
- Price tag set at £40m
WHAT HAPPENED? According to reports, Arsenal are still the favourites to sign Raya this summer, despite Bayern Munich recently entering into talks with the 27-year-old. His price tag is reportedly set at £40 million ($51m), which Arsenal may be reluctant to pay, particularly given that they already have a high-quality No. 1 shot-stopper in Aaron Ramsdale. However, the Gunners are still expected to bid for Raya, and Frank has put pressure on the north London club to speed up that process.
WHAT THEY SAID: "I hope [we get an offer], we are waiting to sell," said Frank. "David would like to go. That’s fine for us. If a club want to buy [him] they just need to find out the price. I guess it should be simple, but apparently it’s very difficult!"
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Brentford have been transparent throughout the process, insisting that they are ready to sell Raya for the right price, but no formal bids have been made for the Spaniard. This is in spite of the fact that Raya spoke out pushing for a move last month, saying: "I have ambitions to make the next step in my career. I want to try to win titles and to compete in Europe in the next couple of years."
IN TWO PHOTOS:
WHAT NEXT FOR RAYA? Raya's Brentford contract expires next summer, so the west London club will be keen to offload him this year for a significant fee, otherwise there's a danger he will run his current deal down. Currently, the Bees are sticking to their £40m valuation, but if time runs out this window, they may be forced to sell for a reduced price or risk losing him for nothing.