Brentford may accept LESS than £40m for Arsenal target David Raya and could be tempted into £30m sale, with Mikel Arteta keen to sign goalkeeper

Brentford may be willing to compromise on their £40million asking price for David Raya as Arsenal look to reach an agreement.

Their opening £23m offer including add-ons will be rejected but a bid of around £30m could be enough.

The club are keen to sign Raya this month as a back-up for Aaron Ramsdale. The 27-year-old would be used in cup competitions and provide stern competition.

It is believed Arsenal are the frontrunners, too, after Brentford rejected Bayern Munich’s offer of a loan deal with the option to turn the move permanent.

Mikel Arteta is believed to hold doubts over Matt Turner, his current No 2, who has been linked with a switch to Nottingham Forest this summer.

However, Raya is valued at £40m whereas Arsenal want a fee closer to £30m.

Thomas Frank has openly reiterated the stopper’s value, saying: ‘I would love to get £40m. He was one of the four best keepers in the Premier League last season.

‘Kane is being spoken of as £100m-plus. So for a keeper, at his best age (it’s fair).’

Arsenal are thought to have held an interest in Raya dating back to before they secured Ramsdale from Sheffield United in 2021.

Raya has received plaudits for his distribution, making him a fit for Arteta’s style.

He has been capped twice by Spain and was ever present for Brentford last season.

Talented player agrees terms with Brentford on long-term contract of…..

Star agrees terms with Arsenal on long-term contract but another transfer can’t be ruled out

Brentford goalkeeper David Raya has agreed personal terms with Arsenal on a long-term contract, though nothing has been signed yet.

That’s according to Fabrizio Romano, writing in the latest edition of his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, with the transfer news expert explaining that the Spanish shot-stopper is leaning towards joining the Gunners over Bayern Munich.

Raya would be an exciting signing for Arsenal, but Romano has warned that it’s not a done deal yet and that you never know in football – Bayern Munich could still come back into the race.

“David Raya has agreed personal terms with Arsenal. It’s a long term contract, and it’s just a verbal agreement for now, of course nothing is signed yet,” Romano said.

“Raya wants to go to Arsenal and Brentford have been informed of that. Arsenal wanted to create competition in that role but again, it’s not a done deal yet because it depends on the clubs. So we have to wait a bit longer

“I revealed a few days ago that Raya’s preference is Arsenal over Bayern Munich. This is because Bayern only offered a loan deal to Brentford and the player wanted something different. Now let’s see if Bayern will react as things progress with Arsenal – at the moment a deal with Bayern is off, but you never know in football.”

For now it seems that deal is off, but Arsenal fans probably shouldn’t start celebrating just yet, even if things do seem to be progressing well on this potential deal.

It will be interesting to see how Mikel Arteta lines up next season, with Aaron Ramsdale mostly performing very well in goal last season, apart from a bit of a dip in form towards the end of the campaign.

Raya could well be an upgrade, or would at least provide an intriguing backup option to keep Ramsdale on his toes next season.